Forest performance during two consecutive drought periods: Diverging long-term trends and short-term responses along a climatic gradient

Dorman, Michael; Svoray, Tal; Perevolotsky, Avi; Sarris, Dimitrios

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.08.009

Cited by 68 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…In fact, several studies have provided evidence for drought-induced tree mortality (Allen et al 2010;Hartmann et al 2015 and references therein). This increased mortality trend, associated with periods of drought or extreme heat, has already been observed for all biomes and plant functional types (Allen et al 2010), and also for declining forest productivity (Dorman et al 2013), stunted tree growth (Leuzinger et al 2005) and greater sensitivity to attacks by biotic agents .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Pine mortality in southeast Spain after an extreme dry and warm year: interactions among drought stress, carbohydrates and bark beetle attack

Serrana

Vilagrosa

Alloza

2015

Trees

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Key message Pine mortality was related to water stress, which caused xylem cavitation.Hydraulic failure and carbon starvation are likely interrelated, and bark beetles attacks did not seem to be directly involved. Abstract Forests are extremely important for society given the many services they provide. Climate models reflect increases in temperature and less annual rainfall, which will generate hotter drier environments. Under these conditions, it is predicted that forest ecosystems will be severely affected, and recent studies have accumulated evidence for drought-induced tree mortality. Consequently, many studies have attempted to explain mechanisms of survival and mortality in forest species. However, the physiological mechanisms that underlie drought mortality are not completely understood. The aim of the present study was to analyse the effect of an extremely dry year on the cause of mortality of pines and on forest decline in pine forest populations in southeast Spain. Specifically, we studied the effect of drought stress that caused pine mortality, dynamics of carbohydrates reserves and bark beetle attack. The results suggest that pine mortality can be attributed to an intense drought stress level that caused xylem cavitation. The results also indicate that hydraulic failure and carbon starvation are likely interrelated, which makes separating both mechanisms very difficult. Finally, the recorded bark beetles attack did not seem to be directly involved in mortality, at least not in the forests with less intense drought conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Pine mortality in southeast Spain after an extreme dry and warm year: interactions among drought stress, carbohydrates and bark beetle attack

Serrana

Vilagrosa

Alloza

2015

Trees

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“…In contrast, (Table 2, PN) findings of declines in forest growth and productivity are emerging in some regions due to episodic or growing drought and heat stress, particularly in historically hot or dry regions (Carnicer et al 2011, Dorman et al 2013), but also sometimes in wet or cool areas such as the Amazon (Brienen et al 2015) and boreal forests (Chen and Luo 2015). Growth of most natural forests is water limited in various ways (Gedalof and Berg 2010, Jenerette et al 2012, Bernacchi and VanLoocke 2014.…”

Section: Patterns (Pn)mentioning

confidence: 99%

On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree mortality and forest die‐off from hotter drought in the Anthropocene

2015

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Abstract. Patterns, mechanisms, projections, and consequences of tree mortality and associated broadscale forest die-off due to drought accompanied by warmer temperatures-''hotter drought'', an emerging characteristic of the Anthropocene-are the focus of rapidly expanding literature. Despite recent observational, experimental, and modeling studies suggesting increased vulnerability of trees to hotter drought and associated pests and pathogens, substantial debate remains among research, management and policy-making communities regarding future tree mortality risks. We summarize key mortalityrelevant findings, differentiating between those implying lesser versus greater levels of vulnerability. Evidence suggesting lesser vulnerability includes forest benefits of elevated [CO 2 ] and increased water-use efficiency; observed and modeled increases in forest growth and canopy greening; widespread increases in woody-plant biomass, density, and extent; compensatory physiological, morphological, and genetic mechanisms; dampening ecological feedbacks; and potential mitigation by forest management. In contrast, recent studies document more rapid mortality under hotter drought due to negative tree physiological responses and accelerated biotic attacks. Additional evidence suggesting greater vulnerability includes rising background mortality rates; projected increases in drought frequency, intensity, and duration; limitations of vegetation models such as inadequately represented mortality processes; warming feedbacks from die-off; and wildfire synergies. Grouping these findings we identify ten contrasting perspectives that shape the vulnerability debate but have not been discussed collectively. We also present a set of global vulnerability drivers that are known with high confidence: (1) droughts eventually occur everywhere; (2) warming produces hotter droughts; (3) atmospheric moisture demand increases nonlinearly with temperature during drought; (4) mortality can occur faster in hotter drought, consistent with fundamental physiology; (5) shorter droughts occur more frequently than longer droughts and can become lethal under warming, increasing the frequency of lethal drought nonlinearly; and (6) mortality happens rapidly relative to growth intervals needed for forest recovery. These high-confidence drivers, in concert with research supporting greater vulnerability perspectives, support an overall viewpoint of greater forest vulnerability globally. We surmise that mortality vulnerability is being discounted in part due to difficulties in predicting threshold responses to extreme climate events. Given the profound ecological and societal implications of underestimating global vulnerability to hotter drought, we highlight urgent challenges for research, management, and policy-making communities.

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“…Extreme drought is a major environmental stress that affects the growth and development of vegetation, subsequently affects the energy balance on the earth's surface and provides invaluable ecosystem services [6]. It is quite important to monitor and assess the potential impacts of droughts on vegetation response [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of Natural Vegetation to Different Stages of Extreme Drought during 2009–2010 in Southwestern China

et al. 2015

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An extreme drought event is usually a long-term process with different stages. Although it is well known that extreme droughts that have occurred frequently in recent years can substantially affect vegetation growth, few studies have revealed the characteristics of vegetation responses for different stages of an extreme drought event. Especially, studies should address when the vegetation growth was disturbed and how it recovered through an extreme drought event. In this study, we used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) to evaluate the response of vegetation to different stages of a severe drought event during 2009-2010 throughout Southwestern China. The PDSI time series indicated that the drought can be divided into three stages, including an initial stage represented by moderate drought (S1), a middle stage represented by continual severe drought (S2), and a final recovery stage (S3). The results revealed that the drought during the initial stage inhibited the growth of grassland and woody savanna, however, forest growth did not decrease during the first stage of droughts, and there was even a trend towards higher NDVI values. OPEN ACCESSRemote Sens. 2015, 7 14040The continual severe drought in the middle stage inhibited growth for all vegetation types, and the woody savanna was affected most severely. In the final stage, all vegetation types underwent recovery, including the grassland that had endured the most severe drought. This study provides observational evidence and reveals that the responses of forest to the extreme drought are different from grassland and woody savanna in the different drought stages.

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Forest performance during two consecutive drought periods: Diverging long-term trends and short-term responses along a climatic gradient

Cited by 68 publications

References 62 publications

Pine mortality in southeast Spain after an extreme dry and warm year: interactions among drought stress, carbohydrates and bark beetle attack

Pine mortality in southeast Spain after an extreme dry and warm year: interactions among drought stress, carbohydrates and bark beetle attack

On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree mortality and forest die‐off from hotter drought in the Anthropocene

Responses of Natural Vegetation to Different Stages of Extreme Drought during 2009–2010 in Southwestern China

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