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Tree height explains mortality risk during an intense drought

Author

Listed:
  • Atticus E. L. Stovall

    (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    University of Virginia)

  • Herman Shugart

    (University of Virginia)

  • Xi Yang

    (University of Virginia)

Abstract

Forest mortality is accelerating due to climate change and the largest trees may be at the greatest risk, threatening critical ecological, economic, and social benefits. Here, we combine high-resolution airborne LiDAR and optical data to track tree-level mortality rates for ~2 million trees in California over 8 years, showing that tree height is the strongest predictor of mortality during extreme drought. Large trees die at twice the rate of small trees and environmental gradients of temperature, water, and competition control the intensity of the height-mortality relationship. These findings suggest that future persistent drought may cause widespread mortality of the largest trees on Earth.

Suggested Citation

  • Atticus E. L. Stovall & Herman Shugart & Xi Yang, 2019. "Tree height explains mortality risk during an intense drought," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-6, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-12380-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12380-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Qiuyu & Peng, Changhui & Schneider, Robert & Cyr, Dominic & Liu, Zelin & Zhou, Xiaolu & Kneeshaw, Daniel, 2021. "TRIPLEX-Mortality model for simulating drought-induced tree mortality in boreal forests: Model development and evaluation," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 455(C).
    2. Tugrul Varol & Ayhan Atesoglu & Halil Baris Ozel & Mehmet Cetin, 2023. "Copula-based multivariate standardized drought index (MSDI) and length, severity, and frequency of hydrological drought in the Upper Sakarya Basin, Turkey," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 116(3), pages 3669-3683, April.
    3. Qin Ma & Yanjun Su & Chunyue Niu & Qin Ma & Tianyu Hu & Xiangzhong Luo & Xiaonan Tai & Tong Qiu & Yao Zhang & Roger C. Bales & Lingli Liu & Maggi Kelly & Qinghua Guo, 2023. "Tree mortality during long-term droughts is lower in structurally complex forest stands," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Zamora-Pereira, Juan Carlos & Hanewinkel, Marc & Yousefpour, Rasoul, 2023. "Robust management strategies promoting ecological resilience and economic efficiency of a mixed conifer-broadleaf forest in Southwest Germany under the risk of severe drought," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    5. de Assis Prado, Carlos Henrique Britto & de Brito Melo Trovão, Dilma Maria, 2023. "The woody crown network model incorporates maximum height," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 481(C).

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