Global vegetation resilience linked to water availability and variability

Smith, Taylor; Boers, Niklas

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36207-7

Cited by 74 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Additionally, LAI primarily influences AET/PET in these ecosystems through its indirect effect on soil moisture. Being an indicator of vegetation, LAI plays a key role in SW conservation (Jasechko et al, 2013; Smith & Boers, 2023). Studies have indicated that soil evaporation contributes more to actual ET when LAI is low (Knapp et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notably, in the alpine meadow and P. euphratica ecosystems, the role of SW is particularly prominent (Figure 6). Soil moisture acts as the main reservoir for plant transpiration and surface evaporation (Gampe et al, 2021; Green et al, 2019), playing a crucial role in transporting water from the soil to the atmosphere (Forzieri et al, 2020; Smith & Boers, 2023). SW evaporation is the primary water loss in ecosystems (Humphrey et al, 2021), and it is also the most important water source for vegetation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interannual dynamics and controlling factors of the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration across typical ecosystems within the Heihe River Basin

Li,

Zhang,

Xing

et al. 2024

Hydrological Processes

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The ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration (AET/PET) represents the water supply of terrestrial ecosystems and can be used to assess the water stress level of plants or ecosystems. This study quantified the control of meteorological, hydrological, and biological factors on AET/PET variations using variance partitioning analysis and path analysis. A soil–plant–atmosphere continuum model was validated and used to simulate AET and PET, as well as the interannual dynamics of AET/PET in typical ecosystems in the upper, middle, and downstream reaches of the Heihe River Basin from 2014 to 2016. The good agreement between measurements and simulations indicates that the model accurately represents the water/heat transfer process in various ecosystems within the Heihe River Basin. The study found that the alpine meadow ecosystem had the highest annual average AET/PET (0.89 ± 0.12), followed by the Populus euphratica ecosystem (0.72 ± 0.17) and cropland ecosystem (0.65 ± 0.15). AET/PET variation characteristics were comparable across the three ecosystems, showing apparent seasonality and interannual fluctuations. Plant transpiration stress was found to be a dominant indicator of ecosystem water availability. Changes in AET/PET were attributed to diverse environmental conditions in the three distinct ecosystems. While the relationship between soil water (SW) content and AET/PET weakened in cropland ecosystems with low water stress, the study demonstrates that SW content remains the most important factor governing AET/PET. The leaf are index and vapour pressure deficiency had significant indirect effects on AET/PET by influencing SW content. Overall, this study provides scientific support for optimizing water resource management in the Heihe River Basin by revealing the interannual variations and controlling factors of AET/PET in typical ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interannual dynamics and controlling factors of the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration across typical ecosystems within the Heihe River Basin

Li,

Zhang,

Xing

et al. 2024

Hydrological Processes

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“…Proposed abiotic legacies include altered biogeochemical cycles that affect nutrient availability, the carryover of soil water deficits from previous years, changes in ecosystem water relations, soil structure and even the loss of soil due to erosion (Austin et al., 2004; de Vries et al., 2016, 2023; Duniway et al., 2019; Kusch et al., 2022; Müller & Bahn, 2022; Munson et al., 2011; Reichmann et al., 2013; Robinson et al., 2016; Sala et al., 2012; Shen et al., 2016; Vilonen et al., 2022; White et al., 2004; Wiegand et al., 2004). Adding further complexity to understanding post‐drought dynamics, climatic conditions after drought will strongly affect the persistence of these legacies and thus the nature and pace of ecosystem recovery (Jiao et al., 2021; Kusch et al., 2022; Smith & Boers, 2023; Sun et al., 2022; Yao et al., 2023).…”

Section: Looking Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field experiments have enhanced our understanding of drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems—But where do we go from here?

Knapp,

Condon,

Folks

et al. 2023

Functional Ecology

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We review results from field experiments that simulate drought, an ecologically impactful global change threat that is predicted to increase in magnitude, extent, duration and frequency. Our goal is to address, from primarily an ecosystem perspective, the questions ‘What have we learned from drought experiments?’ and ‘Where do we go from here?’. Drought experiments are among the most numerous climate change manipulations and have been deployed across a wide range of biomes, although most are conducted in short‐statured, water‐limited ecosystems. Collectively, these experiments have enabled ecologists to quantify the negative responses to drought that occur for most aspects of ecosystem structure and function. Multiple meta‐analyses of responses have also enabled comparisons of relative effect sizes of drought across hundreds of sites, particularly for carbon cycle metrics. Overall, drought experiments have provided strong evidence that ecosystem sensitivity to drought increases with aridity, but that plant traits associated with aridity are not necessarily predictive of drought resistance. There is also intriguing evidence that as drought magnitude or duration increases to extreme levels, plant strategies may shift from drought tolerance to drought escape/avoidance. We highlight three areas where more drought experiments are needed to advance our understanding. First, because drought is intensifying in multiple ways, experiments are needed that address alterations in drought magnitude versus duration, timing and/or frequency (individually and interactively). Second, drivers of drought may be shifting—from precipitation deficits to rising atmospheric demand for water—and disentangling how ecosystems respond to changes in hydrological ‘supply versus demand’ is critical for understanding drought impacts in the future. Finally, more attention should be focussed on post‐drought recovery periods since legacies of drought can affect ecosystem functioning much longer than the drought itself. We conclude with a call for a fundamental shift in the focus of drought experiments from those designed primarily as ‘response experiments’, quantifying the magnitude of change in ecosystem structure and function, to more ‘mechanistic experiments’—those that explicitly manipulate ecological processes or attributes thought to underpin drought responses. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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“…To date, most studies have assessed grassland responses to drought (Gao et al, 2019; Luo et al, 2021), while studies investigating how grassland ecosystems recover from drought are less common (Griffin‐Nolan et al, 2018; Ingrisch & Bahn, 2018; Müller & Bahn, 2022; Sun et al, 2022; Zhou et al, 2022). However, drought legacies can influence grassland processes and functions for many years following severe drought (Broderick et al, 2022; De Boeck et al, 2018; Smith & Boers, 2023). Therefore, quantifying drought recovery and factors determining legacy effects of drought on grassland function and structure remains a major knowledge gap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compensatory dynamics drive grassland recovery from drought

Luo

Song

et al. 2023

Journal of Ecology

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1. Grasslands are expected to experience droughts of unprecedented frequency and magnitude in the future. Characterizing grassland responses and recovery from drought is therefore critical to predict the vulnerability of grassland ecosystems to climate change. Most previous studies have focused on ecosystem responses during drought while investigations of post-drought recovery are rare.Few studies have used functional traits, and in particular bud or clonal traits, to explore the mechanisms underlying grassland responses to and recovery from drought.2. To address this issue, we experimentally imposed a four-year drought in a C 3dominated grassland in northeastern China and monitored recovery for 3 years post-drought. We investigated the immediate and legacy effects of drought on total above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP), ANPP of functional groups (rhizomatous grasses, bunch grasses and forbs), and how the legacy effects were driven by plant species diversity, clonal traits and vegetative traits.3. We found that drought progressively reduced total ANPP over the 4-year period.The reductions in total ANPP in the first and third drought years were caused by the decrease in ANPP of bunch grasses only, while that of the second year was caused by declines in ANPP of bunch grasses and forbs, and the fourth year decline was linked to all three functional groups. The post-drought recovery of ANPP, which occurred despite the continued loss of plant species diversity, was mainly driven by rapid recovery of rhizomatous and bunch grasses, which compensated for the slow response by forbs. The rapid post-drought recovery of

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Global vegetation resilience linked to water availability and variability

Cited by 74 publications

References 56 publications

Interannual dynamics and controlling factors of the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration across typical ecosystems within the Heihe River Basin

Interannual dynamics and controlling factors of the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration across typical ecosystems within the Heihe River Basin

Field experiments have enhanced our understanding of drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems—But where do we go from here?

Compensatory dynamics drive grassland recovery from drought

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