Short periods dominate mast seeding across diverse tree species

Abstract Mast seeding, synchronous and highly variable reproduction among perennial plants, impacts ecosystem dynamics and species interactions. However, the extent of periodicity in mast seeding, defined as cyclical but not strictly regular intervals between reproduction, remains poorly understood. We used autoregressive analyses on seed production data from 556 populations across 20 tree species, with time series ranging from 10 to 62 years, to quantify the prevalence and length of masting periods. We found widespread periodicity, predominantly characterised by short periods of 2–3 years. Although periodicity was common, the signal was often weak, indicating limited explanatory and predictive power. Extended period lengths longer than 4 years were uncommon, occurring in only 2% of time series. Climate and elevation had limited and species‐specific associations with period length and strength, suggesting that broad‐scale climatic gradients explain little variation in masting periodicity across the species analysed. Synthesis . Our findings emphasise the adaptive value of short periods in mast seeding, likely reflecting evolutionary constraints on reproductive timing that balance the benefits of predator satiation with costs such as missed reproductive opportunities.