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Published on: June 30, 2020
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Long-term changes in forest response to extreme atmospheric dryness
Ankit Shekhar1, Lukas Hörtnagl1, Nina Buchmann1
1Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Global Change Biology
|June 29, 2023
Summary
Forests show varying resistance and recovery to atmospheric dryness, with drier sites performing better. However, increasing dryness trends do not consistently improve forest resilience, challenging adaptation predictions.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Science
- Forestry
Background:
- Atmospheric dryness, measured by vapor pressure deficit (VPD), significantly impacts forest greenhouse gas exchange.
- Understanding forest responses to extreme dryness is crucial for predicting ecosystem resilience under climate change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify long-term changes in forest Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP) resistance and recovery in response to extreme atmospheric dryness.
- To test if forest biophysical characteristics and local meteorology influence NEP resistance and recovery.
- To investigate if increasing trends in extreme dryness enhance forest NEP resistance and recovery over time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized long-term NEP measurements (10-30 years) from 60 global forest sites (1003 site-years).
- Employed a data-driven statistical learning approach to quantify NEP resistance and recovery.
- Analyzed the influence of forest type, leaf area index (LAI), and mean VPD on NEP responses.
Main Results:
- Forest type, LAI, and median local VPD explained over 50% of the variance in NEP resistance and recovery.
- Drier forest sites exhibited higher NEP resistance and recovery compared to less dry sites.
- The impact of extreme dryness events on NEP persisted for up to 3 days, with incomplete recovery (<100%).
Conclusions:
- Forest characteristics and local dryness levels are key determinants of NEP resistance and recovery.
- Contrary to hypothesis, increasing trends in extreme dryness did not consistently enhance forest NEP resistance or recovery.
- Predicted increases in atmospheric dryness may not lead to improved forest resilience as anticipated.
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