The global decline in the sensitivity of vegetation productivity to precipitation from 2001-2018

The sensitivity of vegetation productivity to precipitation (Sppt) is a key metric for understanding the variations in vegetation productivity under changing precipitation and predicting future changes in ecosystem functions. However, a comprehensive assessment of Sppt over all the global land is lacking. Here, we investigated spatial patterns and temporal changes of Sppt across the global land from 2001 to 2018 with multiple streams of satellite observations. We found consistent spatial patterns of Sppt with different satellite products: Sppt was highest in dry regions while low in humid regions. Grassland and shrubland showed the highest Sppt, and evergreen needle-leaf forest and wetland showed the lowest. Temporally, Sppt showed a generally declining trend over the past two decades (p < 0.05), yet with clear spatial heterogeneities. The decline in Sppt was especially noticeable in North America and Europe, likely due to the increase in precipitation. In central Russia and Australi..., ,