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Van Passel J, Bernardino PN, Lhermitte S, Rius BF, Hirota M, Conradi T, de Keersmaecker W, Van Meerbeek K, Somers B. Critical slowing down of the Amazon forest after increased drought occurrence. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2316924121. [PMID: 38768350 PMCID: PMC11145287 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316924121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Dynamic ecosystems, such as the Amazon forest, are expected to show critical slowing down behavior, or slower recovery from recurrent small perturbations, as they approach an ecological threshold to a different ecosystem state. Drought occurrences are becoming more prevalent across the Amazon, with known negative effects on forest health and functioning, but their actual role in the critical slowing down patterns still remains elusive. In this study, we evaluate the effect of trends in extreme drought occurrences on temporal autocorrelation (TAC) patterns of satellite-derived indices of vegetation activity, an indicator of slowing down, between 2001 and 2019. Differentiating between extreme drought frequency, intensity, and duration, we investigate their respective effects on the slowing down response. Our results indicate that the intensity of extreme droughts is a more important driver of slowing down than their duration, although their impacts vary across the different Amazon regions. In addition, areas with more variable precipitation are already less ecologically stable and need fewer droughts to induce slowing down. We present findings indicating that most of the Amazon region does not show an increasing trend in TAC. However, the predicted increase in extreme drought intensity and frequency could potentially transition significant portions of this ecosystem into a state with altered functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Van Passel
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
- KU Leuven Plant Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
| | - Paulo N. Bernardino
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas-SP13083-970, Brazil
| | - Stef Lhermitte
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
- Department Geoscience & Remote Sensing, Delft University of Technology, Delft2600, The Netherlands
| | - Bianca F. Rius
- Center for Meteorological and Climatic Research Applied to Agriculture, University of Campinas, Campinas-SP13083-970, Brazil
- Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Laboratory, Department of Physics, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC88040-900, Brazil
| | - Marina Hirota
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas-SP13083-970, Brazil
- Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Laboratory, Department of Physics, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC88040-900, Brazil
| | - Timo Conradi
- Plant Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth95447, Germany
| | | | - Koenraad Van Meerbeek
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
- KU Leuven Plant Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
| | - Ben Somers
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
- KU Leuven Plant Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven3001, Belgium
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Kongjarat W, Han L, Aritsara ANA, Zhang SB, Zhao GJ, Zhang YJ, Maenpuen P, Li YM, Zou YK, Li MY, Li XN, Tao LB, Chen YJ. Hydraulic properties and drought response of a tropical bamboo ( Cephalostachyum pergracile). PLANT DIVERSITY 2024; 46:406-415. [PMID: 38798721 PMCID: PMC11119542 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2023.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Bamboo plants are an essential component of tropical ecosystems, yet their vulnerability to climate extremes, such as drought, is poorly understood due to limited knowledge of their hydraulic properties. Cephalostachyum pergracile, a commonly used tropical bamboo species, exhibited a substantially higher mortality rate than other co-occurring bamboos during a severe drought event in 2019, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the leaf and stem hydraulic traits related to drought responses, including leaf-stem embolism resistance (P50leaf; P50stem) estimated using optical and X-ray microtomography methods, leaf pressure-volume and water-releasing curves. Additionally, we investigated the seasonal water potentials, native embolism level (PLC) and xylem water source using stable isotope. We found that C. pergracile exhibited strong resistance to embolism, showing low P50leaf, P50stem, and turgor loss point, despite its rapid leaf water loss. Interestingly, its leaves displayed greater resistance to embolism than its stem, suggesting a lack of effective hydraulic vulnerability segmentation (HVS) to protect the stem from excessive xylem tension. During the dry season, approximately 49% of the water was absorbed from the upper 20-cm-deep soil layer. Consequently, significant diurnal variation in leaf water potentials and an increase in midday PLC from 5.87 ± 2.33% in the wet season to 12.87 ± 4.09% in the dry season were observed. In summary, this study demonstrated that the rapid leaf water loss, high reliance on surface water, and a lack of effective HVS in C. pergracile accelerated water depletion and increased xylem embolism even in the typical dry season, which may explain its high mortality rate during extreme drought events in 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanwalee Kongjarat
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lu Han
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Amy Ny Aina Aritsara
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- T-STAR Core Team, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
| | - Shu-Bin Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- T-STAR Core Team, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
| | - Gao-Juan Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- T-STAR Core Team, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
| | - Yong-Jiang Zhang
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA
- Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Phisamai Maenpuen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ying-Mei Li
- School of Biological and Chemical Science, Pu’er University, Xueyuan Road, Yunnan 665000, China
| | - Yi-Ke Zou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ming-Yi Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- Institute of Ecology and Geobotany, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, China
| | - Xue-Nan Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- School of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan 650224, China
| | - Lian-Bin Tao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
| | - Ya-Jun Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- T-STAR Core Team, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China
- Yuanjiang Savanna Ecosystem Research Station, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuanjiang, Yunnan 653300, China
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Lenné J, Wood D. Crop Diversity in Agroecosystems for Pest Management and Food Production. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1164. [PMID: 38674573 PMCID: PMC11053515 DOI: 10.3390/plants13081164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
During the past 30 years, there has been a growing belief in and promotion of agroecosystem diversity for pest management and future food production as an agroecological or nature-based approach. Monoculture agriculture, which produces most of our food, is considered to be highly vulnerable to pests in contrast to plant species-diverse agroecosystems which may possess a greater abundance of natural enemies, keeping pest populations under control. In this paper, we question the role of crop diversity for pest management and explore the relationship between crop and associated diversity and pests through the following processes: environmental stresses that favor monodominance; evolutionary adaptations that resist insect herbivores (genetic resistance response); mechanisms of spatial escape from insect herbivores (escape response); and the role of crop-associated biodiversity. We present strong evidence that not only questions the high vulnerability of monocultures to pest damage but also supports why monocultures continue to produce most of the world's food. Reference is made to the importance of targeted plant breeding and the role of trans-continental crop introduction supported by efficient quarantine for pest management. We conclude that-with the exception of irrigated rice-much more research is needed to better understand the role of crop diversity in agroecosystems for pest management and food production.
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Sun C, Yao J, Xu H, Zhou C, Zang R. Assessing the functional vulnerability of woody plant communities within a large scale tropical rainforest dynamics plot. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1372122. [PMID: 38693923 PMCID: PMC11061514 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1372122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Introduction Tropical forests are characterized by intricate mosaics of species-rich and structurally complex forest communities. Evaluating the functional vulnerability of distinct community patches is of significant importance in establishing conservation priorities within tropical forests. However, previous assessments of functional vulnerability in tropical forests have often focused solely on isolated factors or individual disturbance events, with limited consideration for a broad spectrum of disturbances and the responses of diverse species. Methods We assessed the functional vulnerability of woody plant communities in a 60-ha dynamic plot within a tropical montane rainforest by conducting in silico simulations of a wide range disturbances. These simulations combined plant functional traits and community properties, including the distribution of functional redundancy across the entire trait space, the distribution of abundance across species, and the relationship between species trait distinctiveness and species abundance. We also investigated the spatial distribution patterns of functional vulnerability and their scale effects, and employed a spatial autoregressive model to examine the relationships between both biotic and abiotic factors and functional vulnerability at different scales. Results The functional vulnerability of tropical montane rainforest woody plant communities was generally high (the functional vulnerability of observed communities was very close to that of the most vulnerable virtual community, with a value of 72.41% on average at the 20m×20m quadrat scale), and they exhibited significant spatial heterogeneity. Functional vulnerability decreased with increasing spatial scale and the influence of both biotic and abiotic factors on functional vulnerability was regulated by spatial scale, with soil properties playing a dominant role. Discussion Our study provides new specific insights into the comprehensive assessment of functional vulnerability in the tropical rainforest. We highlighted that functional vulnerabilities of woody plant communities and their sensitivity to environmental factors varied significantly within and across spatial scales in the tropical rainforest landscape. Preserving and maintaining the functionality of tropical ecosystems should take into consideration the variations in functional vulnerability among different plant communities and their sensitivity to environmental factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Sun
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jie Yao
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Han Xu
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chaofan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Runguo Zang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
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Yao Y, Liu Y, Fu F, Song J, Wang Y, Han Y, Wu T, Fu B. Declined terrestrial ecosystem resilience. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17291. [PMID: 38647225 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystem resilience is crucial for maintaining the structural and functional stability of ecosystems following disturbances. However, changes in resilience over the past few decades and the risk of future resilience loss under ongoing climate change are unclear. Here, we identified resilience trends using two remotely sensed vegetation indices, analyzed the relative importance of potential driving factors to resilience changes, and finally assessed the risk of future resilience loss based on the output data of eight models from CMIP6. The results revealed that more than 60% of the ecosystems experienced a conversion from an increased trend to a declined trend in resilience. Attribution analysis showed that the most important driving factors of declined resilience varied regionally. The declined trends in resilience were associated with increased precipitation variability in the tropics, decreased vegetation cover in arid region, increased temperature variability in temperate regions, and increased average temperature in cold regions. CMIP6 reveals that terrestrial ecosystems under SPP585 are expected to experience more intense declines in resilience than those under SSP126 and SSP245, particularly in cold regions. These results highlight the risk of continued degradation of ecosystem resilience in the future and the urgency of climate mitigation actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanxu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Fengyu Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxi Song
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yijia Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Han
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Tianjing Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Bojie Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Lenton TM, Abrams JF, Bartsch A, Bathiany S, Boulton CA, Buxton JE, Conversi A, Cunliffe AM, Hebden S, Lavergne T, Poulter B, Shepherd A, Smith T, Swingedouw D, Winkelmann R, Boers N. Remotely sensing potential climate change tipping points across scales. Nat Commun 2024; 15:343. [PMID: 38184618 PMCID: PMC10771461 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44609-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Potential climate tipping points pose a growing risk for societies, and policy is calling for improved anticipation of them. Satellite remote sensing can play a unique role in identifying and anticipating tipping phenomena across scales. Where satellite records are too short for temporal early warning of tipping points, complementary spatial indicators can leverage the exceptional spatial-temporal coverage of remotely sensed data to detect changing resilience of vulnerable systems. Combining Earth observation with Earth system models can improve process-based understanding of tipping points, their interactions, and potential tipping cascades. Such fine-resolution sensing can support climate tipping point risk management across scales.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jesse F Abrams
- Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Annett Bartsch
- b.geos GmbH, Industriestrasse 1A, 2100, Korneuburg, Austria
- Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sebastian Bathiany
- Earth System Modelling, School of Engineering & Design, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
| | | | | | - Alessandra Conversi
- National Research Council of Italy, ISMAR-Lerici, Forte Santa Teresa, Loc. Pozzuolo, 19032, Lerici (SP), Italy
| | | | - Sophie Hebden
- Future Earth Secretariat, Stockholm, Sweden
- European Space Agency, ECSAT, Harwell, Oxfordshire, UK
| | | | | | - Andrew Shepherd
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK
| | - Taylor Smith
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Didier Swingedouw
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, EPOC, UMR 5805, 33600, Pessac, France
| | | | - Niklas Boers
- Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Earth System Modelling, School of Engineering & Design, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
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Wang X, Xu T, Xu C, Liu H, Chen Z, Li Z, Li X, Wu X. Enhanced growth resistance but no decline in growth resilience under long-term extreme droughts. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17038. [PMID: 37987223 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme droughts, with devastating impacts on tree growth and survival, have increased with climate change over the past decades. Assessing growth resistance and resilience to drought is a crucial prerequisite for understanding the responses of forest functioning to drought events. However, the responses of growth resistance and resilience to extreme droughts with different durations across different climatic zones remain unclear. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal patterns in growth resistance and resilience in response to extreme droughts with different durations during 1901-2015, relying on tree-ring chronologies from 2389 forest stands over the mid- and high-latitudinal Northern Hemisphere, species-specific plant functional traits, and diverse climatic factors. The findings revealed that growth resistance and resilience under 1-year droughts were higher in humid regions than in arid regions. Significant higher growth resistance was observed under 2-year droughts than under 1-year droughts in both arid and humid regions, while growth resilience did not show a significant difference. Temporally, tree growth became less resistant and resilient to 1-year droughts in 1980-2015 than in 1901-1979 in both arid and humid regions. As drought duration lengthened, the predominant impacts of climatic factors on growth resistance and resilience weakened and instead foliar economic traits, plant hydraulic traits, and soil properties became much more important in both climatic regions; in addition, such trends were also observed temporally. Finally, we found that most of the Earth system models (ESMs) used in this study overestimated growth resistance and underestimated growth resilience under both 1-year and 2-year droughts. A comprehensive ecophysiological understanding of tree growth responses to longer and intensified drought events is urgently needed, and a specific emphasis should be placed on improving the performance of ESMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaona Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resources Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Taoran Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resources Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chenxi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hongyan Liu
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenju Chen
- Tree-Ring Laboratory, Research Station of Liaohe-River Plain Forest Ecosystem CFERN, College of Forestry, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Zongshan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ximeng Li
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Xiuchen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resources Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, People's Government of Qinghai Province & Beijing Normal University, Xining, China
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Smith T, Boers N. Reliability of vegetation resilience estimates depends on biomass density. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1799-1808. [PMID: 37710044 PMCID: PMC10627832 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02194-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Concerns have been raised that the resilience of vegetated ecosystems may be negatively impacted by ongoing anthropogenic climate and land-use change at the global scale. Several recent studies present global vegetation resilience trends based on satellite data using diverse methodological set-ups. Here, upon a systematic comparison of data sets, spatial and temporal pre-processing, and resilience estimation methods, we propose a methodology that avoids different biases present in previous results. Nevertheless, we find that resilience estimation using optical satellite vegetation data is broadly problematic in dense tropical and high-latitude boreal forests, regardless of the vegetation index chosen. However, for wide parts of the mid-latitudes-especially with low biomass density-resilience can be reliably estimated using several optical vegetation indices. We infer a spatially consistent global pattern of resilience gain and loss across vegetation indices, with more regions facing declining resilience, especially in Africa, Australia and central Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor Smith
- Institute of Geosciences, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Niklas Boers
- Earth System Modelling, School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Mathematics and Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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