Identifying differences in carbohydrate dynamics of seedlings and mature trees to improve carbon allocation in models for trees and forests

Studies of carbohydrate dynamics in trees are often carried out on tree seedlings due to logistical and technical constraints and criticism has been raised whether results can be extrapolated to mature trees. Here we combine a literature review with a critical evaluation of using seedling studies on carbohydrate dynamics to infer mature tree responses that can subsequently be integrated at ecosystem level and beyond. Despite obvious differences between seedlings and mature trees with respect to carbohydrate dynamics, we propose that a combination of approaches, including seedling studies in controlled environments, measurements on mature trees in the field and ecosystem flux measurements, may provide sound estimates of carbohydrate dynamics at larger scales. We show how sensitive predictions of vegetation responses to disturbance are to changes in available reserves and argue that the implementation of more realistic representations of storage dynamics will likely improve simulations of vegetation responses to environmental stress.