Trade-off relationships between tree growth and defense: a comparison of Ocotea bullata and Curtisia dentata following bark harvesting in an evergreen moist South African Forest

Key message Two artificially debarked Afrotemperate tree species showed different trade-offs between wound closure and compartmentalisation of decay in the stem. One species had a relaxed trade-off but inefficient defence, and the other showed more efficient defence but a substantial trade-off.