The intricacies of vegetation responses to changing moisture conditions

2024/10/06 by Julia K. Green · 25 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Atmospheric sciences #Biology #Dryness #Ecology #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies #Ecosystem #Environmental science #Geology #Hydrology (agriculture) #Limiting #Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics #Tree-ring climate responses #Vegetation (pathology) #Water content

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/nph.20182

published in New Phytologist 244(6), 2156-2162 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2024/10/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

A long-standing debate looks at whether air or soil dryness is more limiting to vegetation water use and productivity. The answer has large implications for future ecosystem functioning, as atmospheric dryness is predicted to increase globally while changes in soil moisture are predicted to be far more variable. Here, I review the complexities that contribute to this debate, including the strong coupling between atmospheric and soil dryness, and the widespread heterogeneity in vegetation hydraulic traits, acclimations, and adaptations to water stress. I discuss solutions to improve understanding and modeling of vegetation sensitivity to dryness, including how different types of observational data can be used together to gain insight into vegetation response to water stress across spatial and temporal scales.

Citations

• Remote sensing of phenology: Towards the comprehensive indicators of plant community dynamics from species to regional scales

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• Apparent hydraulic strategies of diverse winegrape cultivars depend on the choice of driving and response variables. [europepmc]
• Dew formation is associated with higher ecosystem productivity across diverse ecosystems. [europepmc]
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