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Observed increasing water constraint on vegetation growth over the last three decades

Author

Listed:
  • Wenzhe Jiao

    (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis)

  • Lixin Wang

    (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis)

  • William K. Smith

    (School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona)

  • Qing Chang

    (O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University)

  • Honglang Wang

    (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis)

  • Paolo D’Odorico

    (University of California)

Abstract

Despite the growing interest in predicting global and regional trends in vegetation productivity in response to a changing climate, changes in water constraint on vegetation productivity (i.e., water limitations on vegetation growth) remain poorly understood. Here we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of changes in water constraint on vegetation growth in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere between 1982 and 2015. We document a significant increase in vegetation water constraint over this period. Remarkably divergent trends were found with vegetation water deficit areas significantly expanding, and water surplus areas significantly shrinking. The increase in water constraints associated with water deficit was also consistent with a decreasing response time to water scarcity, suggesting a stronger susceptibility of vegetation to drought. We also observed shortened water surplus period for water surplus areas, suggesting a shortened exposure to water surplus associated with humid conditions. These observed changes were found to be attributable to trends in temperature, solar radiation, precipitation, and atmospheric CO2. Our findings highlight the need for a more explicit consideration of the influence of water constraints on regional and global vegetation under a warming climate.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenzhe Jiao & Lixin Wang & William K. Smith & Qing Chang & Honglang Wang & Paolo D’Odorico, 2021. "Observed increasing water constraint on vegetation growth over the last three decades," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-24016-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24016-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Lai, Chengguang & Sun, Haowei & Wu, Xushu & Li, Jun & Wang, Zhaoli & Tong, Hongfu & Feng, Jiajin, 2024. "Water availability may not constrain vegetation growth in Northern Hemisphere," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    2. Tang, Darrell W.S. & Bartholomeus, Ruud P. & Ritsema, Coen J., 2024. "Wastewater irrigation beneath the water table: analytical model of crop contamination risks," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    3. Zheng Fu & Philippe Ciais & Jean-Pierre Wigneron & Pierre Gentine & Andrew F. Feldman & David Makowski & Nicolas Viovy & Armen R. Kemanian & Daniel S. Goll & Paul C. Stoy & Iain Colin Prentice & Dan Y, 2024. "Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Wantong Li & Mirco Migliavacca & Matthias Forkel & Jasper M. C. Denissen & Markus Reichstein & Hui Yang & Gregory Duveiller & Ulrich Weber & Rene Orth, 2022. "Widespread increasing vegetation sensitivity to soil moisture," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Li, Xuezhang & Xu, Xianli & Wang, Kelin & Li, Xiaohan, 2023. "Estimation of root zone soil moisture at point scale based on soil water measurements from cosmic-ray neutron sensing in a karst catchment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    6. Taylor Smith & Niklas Boers, 2023. "Global vegetation resilience linked to water availability and variability," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Zefeng Chen & Weiguang Wang & Giovanni Forzieri & Alessandro Cescatti, 2024. "Transition from positive to negative indirect CO2 effects on the vegetation carbon uptake," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.

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