A belowground perspective on the drought sensitivity of forests: Towards improved understanding and simulation

Richard P. Phillips; Inés Ibáñez; Loïc D'Orangeville; Paul J. Hanson; Michael G. Ryan; Nathan G. McDowell

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2016.08.043

A belowground perspective on the drought sensitivity of forests: Towards improved understanding and simulation

Richard P. Phillips, Inés Ibáñez, Loïc D'Orangeville, Paul J. Hanson, Michael G. Ryan, Nathan G. McDowell

Environmental Sciences Division

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

104 Scopus citations

Abstract

Predicted increases in the frequency and intensity of droughts across the temperate biome have highlighted the need to examine the extent to which forests may differ in their sensitivity to water stress. At present, a rich body of literature exists on how leaf- and stem-level physiology influence tree drought responses; however, less is known regarding the dynamic interactions that occur belowground between roots and soil physical and biological factors. Hence, there is a need to better understand how and why processes occurring belowground influence forest sensitivity to drought. Here, we review what is known about tree species’ belowground strategies for dealing with drought, and how physical and biological characteristics of soils interact with rooting strategies to influence forest sensitivity to drought. Then, we highlight how a belowground perspective of drought can be used in models to reduce uncertainty in predicting the ecosystem consequences of droughts in forests. Finally, we describe the challenges and opportunities associated with managing forests under conditions of increasing drought frequency and intensity, and explain how a belowground perspective on drought may facilitate improved forest management.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	309-320
Number of pages	12
Journal	Forest Ecology and Management
Volume	380
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.08.043
State	Published - Nov 15 2016

Funding

All authors would like to thank Kim Novick, Eddie Brzostek, Anthony O’Grady and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on an earlier version of the manuscript. This review is a modified version of a comprehensive synthesis developed by the authors for the USDA Forest Service Report “Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis”, a part of the National Climate Assessment. RPP acknowledges support from the Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Biological and Environmental Research (via the Ameriflux Management Project). RPP wishes to acknowledge the National Science Foundation (NSF) for its support of the Research Coordination Network “Drought-Net”. PJH was supported by the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research . Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC , for the DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 . NGM was supported by the DOE, Office of Science, Survival-Mortality and Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment -Tropics projects. II was partially supported by NSF-DEB (award # 1252664 ).

Funders	Funder number
NSF-DEB	1252664
Survival-Mortality
National Science Foundation
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
Biological and Environmental Research
Oak Ridge National Laboratory	DE-AC05-00OR22725

Keywords

Drought resilience
Earth system models
Ecosystem modeling
Land surface models
Rooting strategies
Water stress

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.foreco.2016.08.043

Cite this

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title = "A belowground perspective on the drought sensitivity of forests: Towards improved understanding and simulation",

abstract = "Predicted increases in the frequency and intensity of droughts across the temperate biome have highlighted the need to examine the extent to which forests may differ in their sensitivity to water stress. At present, a rich body of literature exists on how leaf- and stem-level physiology influence tree drought responses; however, less is known regarding the dynamic interactions that occur belowground between roots and soil physical and biological factors. Hence, there is a need to better understand how and why processes occurring belowground influence forest sensitivity to drought. Here, we review what is known about tree species{\textquoteright} belowground strategies for dealing with drought, and how physical and biological characteristics of soils interact with rooting strategies to influence forest sensitivity to drought. Then, we highlight how a belowground perspective of drought can be used in models to reduce uncertainty in predicting the ecosystem consequences of droughts in forests. Finally, we describe the challenges and opportunities associated with managing forests under conditions of increasing drought frequency and intensity, and explain how a belowground perspective on drought may facilitate improved forest management.",

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AU - D'Orangeville, Loïc

AU - Hanson, Paul J.

AU - Ryan, Michael G.

AU - McDowell, Nathan G.

PY - 2016/11/15

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AB - Predicted increases in the frequency and intensity of droughts across the temperate biome have highlighted the need to examine the extent to which forests may differ in their sensitivity to water stress. At present, a rich body of literature exists on how leaf- and stem-level physiology influence tree drought responses; however, less is known regarding the dynamic interactions that occur belowground between roots and soil physical and biological factors. Hence, there is a need to better understand how and why processes occurring belowground influence forest sensitivity to drought. Here, we review what is known about tree species’ belowground strategies for dealing with drought, and how physical and biological characteristics of soils interact with rooting strategies to influence forest sensitivity to drought. Then, we highlight how a belowground perspective of drought can be used in models to reduce uncertainty in predicting the ecosystem consequences of droughts in forests. Finally, we describe the challenges and opportunities associated with managing forests under conditions of increasing drought frequency and intensity, and explain how a belowground perspective on drought may facilitate improved forest management.

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A belowground perspective on the drought sensitivity of forests: Towards improved understanding and simulation

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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