To answer this important question, an international consortium of scientists, coordinated by INRAE and Bordeaux Sciences Agro, studied the growth of 223 tree species planted in 160 experimental forests in different parts of the world. They found that conservative species, which are the most efficient at conserving their resources (nutrients, water, energy), generally grow faster in forests. These findings, which are available to forest managers and were published in Nature, highlight the central role of local conditions in tree growth.