Soil moisture dominates dryness stress on ecosystem production globally

Laibao Liu (), Lukas Gudmundsson, Mathias Hauser, Dahe Qin, Shuangcheng Li and Sonia I. Seneviratne ()
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Laibao Liu: ETH Zurich
Lukas Gudmundsson: ETH Zurich
Mathias Hauser: ETH Zurich
Dahe Qin: Peking University
Shuangcheng Li: Peking University
Sonia I. Seneviratne: ETH Zurich

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Dryness stress can limit vegetation growth and is often characterized by low soil moisture (SM) and high atmospheric water demand (vapor pressure deficit, VPD). However, the relative role of SM and VPD in limiting ecosystem production remains debated and is difficult to disentangle, as SM and VPD are coupled through land-atmosphere interactions, hindering the ability to predict ecosystem responses to dryness. Here, we combine satellite observations of solar-induced fluorescence with estimates of SM and VPD and show that SM is the dominant driver of dryness stress on ecosystem production across more than 70% of vegetated land areas with valid data. Moreover, after accounting for SM-VPD coupling, VPD effects on ecosystem production are much smaller across large areas. We also find that SM stress is strongest in semi-arid ecosystems. Our results clarify a longstanding question and open new avenues for improving models to allow a better management of drought risk.

Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-18631-1

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18631-1

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