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Do land surface models need to include differential plant species responses to drought? Examining model predictions across a mesic-xeric gradient in Europe

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Title: Do land surface models need to include differential plant species responses to drought? Examining model predictions across a mesic-xeric gradient in Europe
Authors: De Kauwe, MG
Zhou, S-X
Medlyn, BE
Pitman, AJ
Wang, Y-P
Duursma, RA
Prentice, IC
Item Type: Journal Article
Abstract: Future climate change has the potential to increase drought in many regions of the globe, making it essential that land surface models (LSMs) used in coupled climate models realistically capture the drought responses of vegetation. Recent data syntheses show that drought sensitivity varies considerably among plants from different climate zones, but state-of-the-art LSMs currently assume the same drought sensitivity for all vegetation. We tested whether variable drought sensitivities are needed to explain the observed large-scale patterns of drought impact on the carbon, water and energy fluxes. We implemented data-driven drought sensitivities in the Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange (CABLE) LSM and evaluated alternative sensitivities across a latitudinal gradient in Europe during the 2003 heatwave. The model predicted an overly abrupt onset of drought unless average soil water potential was calculated with dynamic weighting across soil layers. We found that high drought sensitivity at the most mesic sites, and low drought sensitivity at the most xeric sites, was necessary to accurately model responses during drought. Our results indicate that LSMs will over-estimate drought impacts in drier climates unless different sensitivity of vegetation to drought is taken into account.
Issue Date: 21-Dec-2015
Date of Acceptance: 11-Dec-2015
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/40679
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7503-2015
ISSN: 1726-4189
Publisher: European Geosciences Union
Start Page: 7503
End Page: 7518
Journal / Book Title: Biogeosciences
Volume: 12
Issue: 24
Copyright Statement: © Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Keywords: Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Physical Sciences
Ecology
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Geology
ROOT-WATER-UPTAKE
STOMATAL CONDUCTANCE
TREE MORTALITY
GAS-EXCHANGE
ATMOSPHERE CONTINUUM
USE EFFICIENCY
CLIMATE-CHANGE
ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY
TERRESTRIAL BIOSPHERE
ANISOHYDRIC BEHAVIORS
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
04 Earth Sciences
05 Environmental Sciences
06 Biological Sciences
Publication Status: Published
Appears in Collections:Department of Life Sciences
Grantham Institute for Climate Change
Faculty of Natural Sciences