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Hyposensitive canopy conductance renders ecosystems vulnerable to meteorological droughts.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Xu, H; Zhang, Z; Oren, R; Wu, X
Published in: Global change biology
April 2023

Increased meteorological drought intensity with rising atmospheric demand for water (hereafter vapor pressure deficit [VPD]) increases the risk of tree mortality and ecosystem dysfunction worldwide. Ecosystem-scale water-use strategy is increasingly recognized as a key factor in regulating drought-related ecosystem responses. However, the link between water-use strategy and ecosystem vulnerability to meteorological droughts is poorly established. Using the global flux observations, historic hydroclimatic data, remote-sensing products, and plant functional-trait archive, we identified potentially vulnerable ecosystems, examining how ecosystem water-use strategy, quantified by the percentage bias (δ) of the empirical canopy conductance sensitivity to VPD relative to the theoretical value, mediated ecosystem responses to droughts. We found that prevailing soil water availability substantially impacted δ in dryland regions where ecosystems with insufficient soil moisture usually showed conservative water-use strategy, while ecosystems in humid regions exhibited more pronounced climatic adaptability. Hyposensitive and hypersensitive ecosystems, classified based on δ falling below or above the theoretical sensitivity, respectively, achieved similar net ecosystem productivity during droughts, employing different structural and functional strategies. However, hyposensitive ecosystems, risking their hydraulic system with a permissive water-use strategy, were unable to recover from droughts as quickly as hypersensitive ones. Our findings highlight that processed-based models predicting current functions and future performance of vegetation should account for the greater vulnerability of hyposensitive ecosystems to intensifying atmospheric and soil droughts.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Global change biology

DOI

EISSN

1365-2486

ISSN

1354-1013

Publication Date

April 2023

Volume

29

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1890 / 1904

Related Subject Headings

  • Water
  • Trees
  • Soil
  • Ecosystem
  • Ecology
  • Droughts
  • 41 Environmental sciences
  • 37 Earth sciences
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

Citation

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Xu, H., Zhang, Z., Oren, R., & Wu, X. (2023). Hyposensitive canopy conductance renders ecosystems vulnerable to meteorological droughts. Global Change Biology, 29(7), 1890–1904. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16607
Xu, Hang, Zhiqiang Zhang, Ram Oren, and Xiaoyun Wu. “Hyposensitive canopy conductance renders ecosystems vulnerable to meteorological droughts.Global Change Biology 29, no. 7 (April 2023): 1890–1904. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16607.
Xu H, Zhang Z, Oren R, Wu X. Hyposensitive canopy conductance renders ecosystems vulnerable to meteorological droughts. Global change biology. 2023 Apr;29(7):1890–904.
Xu, Hang, et al. “Hyposensitive canopy conductance renders ecosystems vulnerable to meteorological droughts.Global Change Biology, vol. 29, no. 7, Apr. 2023, pp. 1890–904. Epmc, doi:10.1111/gcb.16607.
Xu H, Zhang Z, Oren R, Wu X. Hyposensitive canopy conductance renders ecosystems vulnerable to meteorological droughts. Global change biology. 2023 Apr;29(7):1890–1904.
Journal cover image

Published In

Global change biology

DOI

EISSN

1365-2486

ISSN

1354-1013

Publication Date

April 2023

Volume

29

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1890 / 1904

Related Subject Headings

  • Water
  • Trees
  • Soil
  • Ecosystem
  • Ecology
  • Droughts
  • 41 Environmental sciences
  • 37 Earth sciences
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences