Forest sensitivity change in response to disturbances

Forests are a primary terrestrial carbon (C) pool. The increasing frequency and intensity of climate-sensitive disturbances, such as droughts, fires, and biotic agent outbreaks, is threatening the long-term uptake and sequestration of C. It is crucial to determine how climate-sensitive disturbances may alter the capacity of forest C sinks in a changing climate. Here, we quantified the change in the sensitivity of forest productivity to water stress due to severe droughts, fires, and insect outbreaks. We found that the sensitivity of gross primary productivity to subsequent water stress increased significantly after initial drought and fire disturbances in the conterminous United States.<br><br>Citation: Meng Liu, Anna T. Trugman, Josep Peñuelas, William R. L. Anderegg. Climate-driven disturbances amplify forest drought sensitivity. 2024. Nature Climate Change. (In press)<br>