FOREST ECOLOGY. Pervasive drought legacies in forest ecosystems and their implications for carbon cycle models

W R L Anderegg; C Schwalm; F Biondi; J J Camarero; G Koch; M Litvak; K Ogle; J D Shaw; E Shevliakova; A P Williams; A Wolf; E Ziaco; S Pacala

doi:10.1126/science.aab1833

FOREST ECOLOGY. Pervasive drought legacies in forest ecosystems and their implications for carbon cycle models

Science. 2015 Jul 31;349(6247):528-32. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1833.

Authors

W R L Anderegg¹, C Schwalm², F Biondi³, J J Camarero⁴, G Koch⁵, M Litvak⁶, K Ogle⁷, J D Shaw⁸, E Shevliakova⁹, A P Williams¹⁰, A Wolf¹¹, E Ziaco³, S Pacala¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
² Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA. School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
³ DendroLab and Graduate Program of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
⁴ Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avda. Montañana 1005, 50192 Zaragoza, Spain.
⁵ Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
⁶ Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
⁷ School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
⁸ Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Ogden, UT 84401, USA.
⁹ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
¹⁰ Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
¹¹ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.

PMID: 26228147
DOI: 10.1126/science.aab1833

Abstract

The impacts of climate extremes on terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood but important for predicting carbon cycle feedbacks to climate change. Coupled climate-carbon cycle models typically assume that vegetation recovery from extreme drought is immediate and complete, which conflicts with the understanding of basic plant physiology. We examined the recovery of stem growth in trees after severe drought at 1338 forest sites across the globe, comprising 49,339 site-years, and compared the results with simulated recovery in climate-vegetation models. We found pervasive and substantial "legacy effects" of reduced growth and incomplete recovery for 1 to 4 years after severe drought. Legacy effects were most prevalent in dry ecosystems, among Pinaceae, and among species with low hydraulic safety margins. In contrast, limited or no legacy effects after drought were simulated by current climate-vegetation models. Our results highlight hysteresis in ecosystem-level carbon cycling and delayed recovery from climate extremes.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Carbon Cycle*
Climate Change*
Droughts*
Europe
Forests*
Models, Theoretical
Trees / growth & development*
United States