Injury and Death or Recovery of Trees in Prairie Climate

Albertson, F. W.; Weaver, J. E.

doi:10.2307/1948428

Cited by 96 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…During the 1930-1940 "dustbowl" years, much of the central US experienced record-or near-record low rainfall, high temperatures, high evaporation, and declining soil moisture. In the most extreme years (e.g., 1934, 1936, 1939), rainfall was up to 40% below normal, summer maximum temperatures were 3-6°C above normal, evaporation exceeded that of non-drought years by up to 33%, and the water table fell by one metre or more (Albertson & Weaver 1945). This drought was one of the three most extreme to affect North America since 1900 (Cook et al 2004), although not as severe as previous megadrought periods that occurred in the 12 th to 16 th centuries (Woodhouse & Overpeck 1998;Stahle et al 2007).…”

Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mortality of dominant and subordinate tree species (e.g., Ulmus americana, Populus sargentii, Celtis occidentalis, Salix spp.) exceeded 50% across a broad range of topoedaphic habitats with distinctly different hydrological regimes, most notably in dry ravines and along intermittent creeks (Albertson & Weaver 1945). In prairie communities perennial grasses such as Andropogon scoparius, Koeleria cristata and Poa pratensis suffered up to 80-90% mortality, while subordinate grasses and forbs were almost eliminated (Albertson & Weaver 1944).…”

Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In prairie communities perennial grasses such as Andropogon scoparius, Koeleria cristata and Poa pratensis suffered up to 80-90% mortality, while subordinate grasses and forbs were almost eliminated (Albertson & Weaver 1944). The catastrophic loss of groundcover resulted in intense wind erosion, with dust accumulating to depths of 2 feet (60 cm) in sheltered locations (Albertson & Weaver 1945). This dust exacerbated the severity of water stress experienced by plants during the drought by preventing rain infiltration into the soil, effectively blocking moisture from reaching the rhizosphere (Albertson & Weaver 1945).…”

Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The catastrophic loss of groundcover resulted in intense wind erosion, with dust accumulating to depths of 2 feet (60 cm) in sheltered locations (Albertson & Weaver 1945). This dust exacerbated the severity of water stress experienced by plants during the drought by preventing rain infiltration into the soil, effectively blocking moisture from reaching the rhizosphere (Albertson & Weaver 1945). Insect attack also increased the impact of drought on tree populations (Albertson & Weaver 1945;Mattson & Haack 1987).…”

Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During drought in the 1930's, Weaver (1944, 1945) observed that survival among tree species in ravine environments ranged from 64% (Celtis occidentalis) to only 30% (Ulmus americana), and drought hardy species, such as Juniperus virginiana, had much lower mortality (1-37%) than all other co-occurring species, even persisting as monospecific stands on the most xeric sites (Albertson & Weaver 1945). In prairie communities, all species were affected but some, including Andropogon furcatus, suffered much lower mortality than others (e.g., Andropogon scoparius, Stipa spartea) which experienced over 80% mortality.…”

Section: Community Composition and Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Extreme Climatic Events as Drivers of Ecosystem Change

Godfree¹

2012

Diversity of Ecosystems

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Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Demographic Change and Plant Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Community Composition and Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Extreme Climatic Events as Drivers of Ecosystem Change

Godfree¹

2012

Diversity of Ecosystems

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Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a Central U.S. forest

Pallardy

Yang

et al. 2016

JGR Biogeosciences

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Testing complex land surface models has often proceeded by asking the question: does the model prediction agree with the observation? Such an approach has yet led to high-performance terrestrial models that meet the challenges of climate and ecological studies. Here we test the Community Land Model (CLM) by asking the question: does the model behave like an ecosystem? We pursue its answer by testing CLM in the ecosystem functional space (EFS) at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) forest site in the Central U.S., focusing on carbon and water flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses. In the observed EFS, precipitation regimes and associated water and heat stresses controlled seasonal and interannual variations of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 and evapotranspiration in this deciduous forest ecosystem. Such controls were exerted more strongly by precipitation variability than by the total precipitation amount per se. A few simply constructed climate variability indices captured these controls, suggesting a high degree of potential predictability. While the interannual fluctuation in NEE was large, a net carbon sink was maintained even during an extreme drought year. Although CLM predicted seasonal and interanual variations in evapotranspiration reasonably well, its predictions of net carbon uptake were too small across the observed range of climate variability. Also, the model systematically underestimated the sensitivities of NEE and evapotranspiration to climate variability and overestimated the coupling strength between carbon and water fluxes. We suspect that the modeled and observed trajectories of ecosystem fluxes did not overlap in the EFS and the model did not behave like the ecosystem it attempted to simulate. A definitive conclusion will require comprehensive parameter and structural sensitivity tests in a rigorous mathematical framework. We suggest that future model improvements should focus on better representation and parameterization of process responses to environmental stresses and on more complete and robust representations of carbon-specific processes so that adequate responses to climate variability and a proper degree of coupling between carbon and water exchanges are captured.Overcoming this spaghetti problem of terrestrial models is an urgent need and a prerequisite for advancing Earth system science. Typically, model deficiencies at the system level are identified by comparing model GU ET AL. (2016), Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a

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Flow reconstructions in the Upper Missouri River Basin using riparian tree rings

2016

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River flow reconstructions are typically developed using tree rings from montane conifers that cannot reflect flow regulation or hydrologic inputs from the lower portions of a watershed. Incorporating lowland riparian trees may improve the accuracy of flow reconstructions when these trees are physically linked to the alluvial water table. We used riparian plains cottonwoods (Populus deltoides ssp. monilifera) to reconstruct discharge for three neighboring rivers in the Upper Missouri River Basin: the Yellowstone (n = 389 tree cores), Powder (n = 408), and Little Missouri Rivers (n = 643). We used the Regional Curve Standardization approach to reconstruct log‐transformed discharge over the 4 months in early summer that most highly correlated to tree ring growth. The reconstructions explained at least 57% of the variance in historical discharge and extended back to 1742, 1729, and 1643. These are the first flow reconstructions for the Lower Yellowstone and Powder Rivers, and they are the furthest downstream among Rocky Mountain rivers in the Missouri River Basin. Although mostly free‐flowing, the Yellowstone and Powder Rivers experienced a shift from early‐summer to late‐summer flows within the last century. This shift is concurrent with increasing irrigation and reservoir storage, and it corresponds to decreased cottonwood growth. Low‐frequency flow patterns revealed wet conditions from 1870 to 1980, a period that includes the majority of the historical record. The 1816–1823 and 1861–1865 droughts were more severe than any recorded, revealing that drought risks are underestimated when using the instrumental record alone.

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Injury and Death or Recovery of Trees in Prairie Climate

Cited by 96 publications

References 24 publications

Extreme Climatic Events as Drivers of Ecosystem Change

Extreme Climatic Events as Drivers of Ecosystem Change

Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a Central U.S. forest

Flow reconstructions in the Upper Missouri River Basin using riparian tree rings

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