A New Wetness Index to Evaluate the Soil Water Availability Influence on Gross Primary Production of European Forests

Abstract

Rising temperature, drought and more-frequent extreme climatic events have been predicted for the next decades in many regions around the globe. In this framework, soil water availability plays a pivotal role in affecting vegetation productivity, especially in arid or semi-arid environments. However, direct measurements of soil moisture are scarce, and modeling estimations are still subject to biases. Further investigation on the effect of soil moisture on plant productivity is required. This study aims at analyzing spatio-temporal variations of a modified temperature vegetation wetness index (mTVWI), a proxy of soil moisture, and evaluating its effect on gross primary production (GPP) in forests. The study was carried out in Europe on 19 representative tree species during the 2000–2010 time period. Results outline a north–south gradient of mTVWI with minimum values (low soil water availability) in Southern Europe and maximum values (high soil water availability) in Northeastern Europe. A low soil water availability negatively affected GPP from 20 to 80%, as a function of site location, tree species, and weather conditions. Such a wetness index improves our understanding of water stress impacts, which is crucial for predicting the response of forest carbon cycling to drought and aridity.

Horizontal and vertical spatial distribution and loss of grassland in Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…Soil moisture plays a pivotal role in vegetation dynamics, considering that soil water availability is a crucial limiting factor for plant photosynthesis (Proietti et al, 2019). The WaW 2018 database (CLMS, 2020b), with a resolution of 10 m, has been used providing an overview of permanently and temporarily wet areas.…”

Типови И Промјене Површинске Влажности У Републици Српској Према Wаter and Wetness Бази Податакa

“…BRANISLAV DRAŠKOVIĆ 52 УВОД Влажност земљишта игра кључну улогу у динамици вегетације, с обзиром на то да је доступност воде у земљишту ограничавајући фактор за фотосинтезу биљака (Proietti et al, 2019). С тим у вези, карте влажности земљишта пружају непроцјењив ресурс за квантификацију ефеката недостатка падавина на земљиште покривено вегетацијом (Cammalleri et al, 2015).…”

“…Од осталих регија са већим привремено влажним зонама истиче се сјеверни дио, регије Посавина и Семберија. У овом случају основни разлог појаве влажности везан је INTRODUCTION Soil moisture plays a pivotal role in vegetation dynamics, considering that soil water availability is a crucial limiting factor for plant photosynthesis (Proietti et al, 2019). Consequently, soil moisture maps provide an invaluable resource to quantify the effects of rainfall deficits on vegetated lands (Cammalleri et al, 2015).…”

SI: Air Pollution and Plant Ecosystems

“…A total of 11 papers were submitted for potential publication within the Special Issue. Finally, six papers have been accepted for publication [10][11][12][13][14][15], translating to an acceptance rate of about 55%.…”

“…Proietti et al [13], considering the importance of soil water availability as a driver of vegetation productivity, analyzed the spatiotemporal variation of a proposed temperature vegetation wetness index as a proxy of soil moisture and evaluated its effect on gross primary production using 19 representative tree species in Europe over the time period 2000-2010. The Modified Temperature Vegetation Wetness Index (mTVWI) displayed minimum soil water availability in Southern Europe and maximum soil water availability in Northeastern Europe.…”