An ecohydrological perspective on drought‐induced forest mortality

Parolari, Anthony J.; Katul, Gabriel G.; Porporato, Amilcare

doi:10.1002/2013jg002592

Cited by 29 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…A fitness measure F based on short‐term plant or climate indices may not be sufficient given the lags in mortality following repeated drought; longer‐term indices, or a combination of long‐ and short‐term indices, may be more appropriate. Notable here are ecohydrological approaches where, for example, F is (negatively) related to aggregated plant water deficit (Anderegg et al ., ), or to a combination of simplified soil, stomatal and respiration traits driven using a stochastic precipitation regime (Parolari et al ., ). Often, p ( F ) is implemented as an average mortality rate (e.g.…”

Section: Modelling Mortality In the Face Of Incomplete Mechanistic Unmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought‐related tree mortality: addressing the gaps in understanding and prediction

2015

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28I.28II.29III.30IV.3131References31 Summary Increased tree mortality during and after drought has become a research focus in recent years. This focus has been driven by: the realisation that drought‐related tree mortality is more widespread than previously thought; the predicted increase in the frequency of climate extremes this century; and the recognition that current vegetation models do not predict drought‐related tree mortality and forest dieback well despite the large potential effects of these processes on species composition and biogeochemical cycling. To date, the emphasis has been on understanding the causal mechanisms of drought‐related tree mortality, and on mechanistic models of plant function and vegetation dynamics, but a consensus on those mechanisms has yet to emerge. In order to generate new hypotheses and to help advance the modelling of vegetation dynamics in the face of incomplete mechanistic understanding, we suggest that general patterns should be distilled from the diverse and as‐yet inconclusive results of existing studies, and more use should be made of optimisation and probabilistic modelling approaches that have been successfully applied elsewhere in plant ecology. The outcome should inform new empirical studies of tree mortality, help improve its prediction and reduce model complexity.

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Section: Modelling Mortality In the Face Of Incomplete Mechanistic Unmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought‐related tree mortality: addressing the gaps in understanding and prediction

2015

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“…At longer time scales, changes in traits due to species selection can be described through optimality approaches that explore a range of possible phenotypes and select the trait combinations that allow maximum fitness (Schwinning and Ehleringer 2001, Everard et al 2010, Manzoni et al 2014b. Plant mortality following drought events is particularly complicated to describe, since it results from multiple exogenous and endogenous factors, which only some recent works are attempting to disentangle (Parolari et al 2014).…”

Section: Modeling Plant Eco-physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic interactions of ecohydrological and biogeochemical processes in water‐limited systems

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Water is the essential reactant, catalyst, or medium for many biogeochemical reactions, thus playing an important role in the activation and deactivation of biogeochemical processes. The coupling between hydrological and biogeochemical processes is particularly evident in water-limited arid and semiarid environments, but also in areas with strong seasonal precipitation patterns (e.g., Mediterranean) or in mesic systems during droughts. Moreover, this coupling is apparent at all levels in the ecosystems-from soil microbial cells to whole plants to landscapes. Identifying and quantifying the biogeochemical ''hot spots'' and ''hot moments'', the underlying hydrological drivers, and how disturbance-induced vegetation transitions affect the hydrological-biogeochemical interactions are challenging because of the inherent complexity of these interactions, thus requiring interdisciplinary approaches. At the same time, a holistic approach is essential to fully understand function and processes in water-limited ecosystems and to predict their responses to environmental change. This article examines some of the mechanisms responsible for microbial and vegetation responses to moisture inputs in water-limited ecosystems through a synthesis of existing literature. We begin with the initial observation of Birch effect in 1950s and examine our current understanding of the interactions among vegetation dynamics, hydrology, and biochemistry over the past 60 years. We also summarize the modeling advances in addressing these interactions. This paper focuses on three opportunities to advance coupled hydrological and biogeochemical research: (1) improved quantitative understanding of mechanisms linking hydrological and biogeochemical variations in drylands, (2) experimental and theoretical approaches that describe linkages between hydrology and biogeochemistry (particularly across scales), and (3) the use of these tools and insights to address critical dryland issues of societal relevance.

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“…Multiple studies (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10) have noted close association between forest mortality and water and heat stress, owing to shifting precipitation patterns and rising air temperature. However, the influence of concurrent changes in specific humidity (SH) and CO2 concentration, which affect plant response to stress by altering stomatal kinetics (11), have not received similar attention.…”

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confidence: 99%

Increasing atmospheric humidity and CO ₂ concentration alleviate forest mortality risk

Liu

Parolari

Kumar

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Climate-induced forest mortality is being increasingly observed throughout the globe. Alarmingly, it is expected to exacerbate under climate change due to shifting precipitation patterns and rising air temperature. However, the impact of concomitant changes in atmospheric humidity and CO 2 concentration through their influence on stomatal kinetics remains a subject of debate and inquiry. By using a dynamic soil-plant-atmosphere model, mortality risks associated with hydraulic failure and stomatal closure for 13 temperate and tropical forest biomes across the globe are analyzed. The mortality risk is evaluated in response to both individual and combined changes in precipitation amounts and their seasonal distribution, mean air temperature, specific humidity, and atmospheric CO 2 concentration. Model results show that the risk is predicted to significantly increase due to changes in precipitation and air temperature regime for the period 2050-2069. However, this increase may largely get alleviated by concurrent increases in atmospheric specific humidity and CO 2 concentration. The increase in mortality risk is expected to be higher for needleleaf forests than for broadleaf forests, as a result of disparity in hydraulic traits. These findings will facilitate decisions about intervention and management of different forest types under changing climate.forest mortality | drought | climate change | hydraulic failure | stomatal closure F orest mortality can lead to irreversible change in vegetation cover, thereby affecting many processes pertinent to water, carbon, and nutrient budgets (1). Multiple studies (2-10) have noted close association between forest mortality and water and heat stress, owing to shifting precipitation patterns and rising air temperature. However, the influence of concurrent changes in specific humidity (SH) and CO2 concentration, which affect plant response to stress by altering stomatal kinetics (11), have not received similar attention. Although elevated CO2 concentration is expected to promote future forest productivity (12), the extent to which it affects forest mortality in the context of water and heat stress remains a subject of inquiry. Short-term records (3, 4) and long-term manipulative field studies in forests such as the Free Air CO2 Enrichment experiments (13-15) have tried to fill the knowledge gap; however, they do not cover the entire manifold of projected climate conditions. The goals of this study are to evaluate the individual and combined influence of projected changes in precipitation, temperature, SH, and CO2 concentration on forest mortality risk and to investigate whether the response of mortality risk differs among plant functional types (PFTs).Tree mortality may occur through several mechanisms, including hydraulic failure, carbon starvation, phloem transport limitation, and biotic attack (16,17). Hydraulic failure is characterized as the malfunction of xylem water transport associated with cavitation, which is induced by low xylem water potential under limited soil wate...

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An ecohydrological perspective on drought‐induced forest mortality

Cited by 29 publications

References 40 publications

Drought‐related tree mortality: addressing the gaps in understanding and prediction

Drought‐related tree mortality: addressing the gaps in understanding and prediction

Dynamic interactions of ecohydrological and biogeochemical processes in water‐limited systems

Increasing atmospheric humidity and CO ₂ concentration alleviate forest mortality risk

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An ecohydrological perspective on drought‐induced forest mortality

Cited by 29 publications

References 40 publications

Drought‐related tree mortality: addressing the gaps in understanding and prediction

Drought‐related tree mortality: addressing the gaps in understanding and prediction

Dynamic interactions of ecohydrological and biogeochemical processes in water‐limited systems

Increasing atmospheric humidity and CO 2 concentration alleviate forest mortality risk

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Increasing atmospheric humidity and CO ₂ concentration alleviate forest mortality risk