Trade-off between growth and survival are widely reported for seedlings, but such trade-off are less clear in later developmental stages. Traits change with plant growth, possibly differently among species. The aim of this study is to investigate size-dependent changes in traits and growth through growth analysis and quantifying change in traits.

During a major masting event in 2014 in a Malaysian rainforest, we raised 595 seedlings from seeds and determined total biomass, leaf mass, and leaf area. Relative growth rate of mass (RGRw), leaf mass ratio (LMR), specific leaf area (SLA), and change rates of LMR and SLA were calculated for each of 48 species for first-leaf stage seedlings and ca. 11 month later.

Initial seedling size explained RGRw mainly through leaf area ratio (LAR). Species with high initial SLA exhibited rapid decline of SLA, but overall had high LAR and higher net assimilation rate (NAR), resulting in high RGRw.

The result mostly supports the previous comparative studies with temperate and tropical tree species. Consideration of trait changes with growth substantially improves growth modeling and helps to understand seedlings’ strategy.