Increasing Sensitivity of Tree Radial Growth to Precipitation
Journal article, 2024

The sensitivity of tree growth to precipitation regulates their responses to drought, and is a crucial metric for predicting ecosystem dynamics and vulnerability. Sensitivity may be changing with continuing climate change, yet a comprehensive assessment of its change is still lacking. We utilized tree ring measurements from 3,044 sites, climate data and CO2 concentrations obtained from monitoring stations, combined with dynamic global vegetation models to investigate spatiotemporal changes in the sensitivity over the past century. We observed an increasing sensitivity since around 1950. This increased sensitivity was particularly pronounced in arid biomes due to the combined effect of increased precipitation and elevated CO2. While elevated CO2 reduced the sensitivity of the humid regions, the intensified water pressure caused by decreased precipitation still increased the sensitivity. Our findings suggest an escalating vulnerability of tree growth to precipitation change, which may increase the risk of tree mortality under future intensified drought.

CO concentrations 2

tree radial growth

precipitation changes

precipitation sensitivity

temporal trend

Author

Tiewei Li

Beijing Normal University

Bin He

Beijing Normal University

Deliang Chen

University of Gothenburg

Hans Chen

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Geoscience and Remote Sensing

Lanlan Guo

Beijing Normal University

Wenping Yuan

Beijing University of Technology

Keyan Fang

Fujian Normal University

Feng Shi

Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences

Lianyou Liu

Beijing Normal University

Huan Zheng

Beijing Normal University

Ling Huang

Beijing University of Technology

Xiuchen Wu

Beijing Normal University

Xingming Hao

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Xiang Zhao

Beijing Normal University

Weiguo Jiang

Beijing Normal University

Geophysical Research Letters

0094-8276 (ISSN) 19448007 (eISSN)

Vol. 51 16 e2024GL110003

Subject Categories

Ecology

Forest Science

Climate Research

DOI

10.1029/2024GL110003

More information

Latest update

9/5/2024 7