Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies
Understanding plant responses to hydrological extremes is critical for projections of the future terrestrial carbon uptake, but much more is known about the impacts of drought than of extreme wet conditions. However, the latter may control ecosystem-scale photosynthesis more strongly than the former...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abfc78 |
| _version_ | 1827870228159135744 |
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| author | Caroline A Famiglietti Anna M Michalak Alexandra G Konings |
| author_facet | Caroline A Famiglietti Anna M Michalak Alexandra G Konings |
| author_sort | Caroline A Famiglietti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding plant responses to hydrological extremes is critical for projections of the future terrestrial carbon uptake, but much more is known about the impacts of drought than of extreme wet conditions. However, the latter may control ecosystem-scale photosynthesis more strongly than the former in certain regions. Here we take a data-driven, location-based approach to evaluate where wet and dry extremes most affect photosynthesis. By comparing the sensitivity of vegetation greenness during extreme wetness to that during extreme dryness over a 34 year record, we find that regions where the impact of wet extremes dominates are nearly as common as regions where drought impacts dominate. We also demonstrate that the responses of wet-sensitive regions are not uniform and are instead controlled by multiple, often interacting, mechanisms. Given predicted increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme hydrological events with climate change, the consequences of extreme wet conditions on local and global carbon cycling will likely be amplified in future decades. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:54:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7f397d22bdd442df92ed071f7415a601 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:54:50Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-7f397d22bdd442df92ed071f7415a6012023-08-09T14:59:05ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-0116707401410.1088/1748-9326/abfc78Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomaliesCaroline A Famiglietti0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6073-0457Anna M Michalak1Alexandra G Konings2Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University , Stanford, CA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Earth System Science, Stanford University , Stanford, CA, United States of America; Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science , Stanford, CA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Earth System Science, Stanford University , Stanford, CA, United States of AmericaUnderstanding plant responses to hydrological extremes is critical for projections of the future terrestrial carbon uptake, but much more is known about the impacts of drought than of extreme wet conditions. However, the latter may control ecosystem-scale photosynthesis more strongly than the former in certain regions. Here we take a data-driven, location-based approach to evaluate where wet and dry extremes most affect photosynthesis. By comparing the sensitivity of vegetation greenness during extreme wetness to that during extreme dryness over a 34 year record, we find that regions where the impact of wet extremes dominates are nearly as common as regions where drought impacts dominate. We also demonstrate that the responses of wet-sensitive regions are not uniform and are instead controlled by multiple, often interacting, mechanisms. Given predicted increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme hydrological events with climate change, the consequences of extreme wet conditions on local and global carbon cycling will likely be amplified in future decades.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abfc78extreme hydrological eventsextreme wet eventsterrestrial carbon uptakeclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Caroline A Famiglietti Anna M Michalak Alexandra G Konings Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies Environmental Research Letters extreme hydrological events extreme wet events terrestrial carbon uptake climate change |
| title | Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies |
| title_full | Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies |
| title_fullStr | Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies |
| title_short | Extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies |
| title_sort | extreme wet events as important as extreme dry events in controlling spatial patterns of vegetation greenness anomalies |
| topic | extreme hydrological events extreme wet events terrestrial carbon uptake climate change |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abfc78 |
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