Article
Forestry
Ljubica Lukac, Stjepan Mikac, Otmar Urban, Tomas Kolar, Michal Rybnicek, Alexander Ac, Mirek Trnka, Michal Marek
Summary: The δ C-13 and δ O-18 values are better proxies for temperature, precipitation, and drought than tree-ring widths (TRWs). The strongest correlations between these values and climate parameters are during the summer period, and they can be used for precipitation reconstruction in the Balkan Peninsula and eastern Mediterranean region.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Bin Wang, Ming-Ying Lee, Zhiling Xie, Mengqian Lu, Mengxin Pan
Summary: Three consecutive precipitation extremes occurred in November 2021, and they were organized by an intraseasonal Asian/North American (ANA) teleconnection, which is shaped by the interaction between Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and La Nina. This teleconnection generates cross-Pacific wave trains that steer atmospheric rivers, leading to the occurrence of extreme precipitation events.
NPJ CLIMATE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Boniface O. Fosu, Edward R. Cook, Michela Biasutti, Brendan M. Buckley, Sharon E. Nicholson
Summary: This study uses remote tree rings to reconstruct the hydroclimate of West Africa, demonstrating the relationship between West African Monsoon and Mediterranean Sea surface temperatures. The results show that even without local tree ring data, this method can accurately capture the hydroclimate variability in West Africa.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Connie A. Woodhouse, Gregory J. McCabe, Cody C. Routson, David M. Meko
Summary: The ongoing drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin has been found to be extremely severe, especially when compared to the tree-ring records from as early as 762 CE. Using gridded drought-atlas data and streamflow data, researchers have developed a streamflow reconstruction model for the Lees Ferry gage, revealing a second-century drought that surpasses the severity of the current drought and documented medieval period droughts. Limited data also support the occurrence of this exceptional second-century drought through analysis of individual tree-ring records and other paleoclimatic data.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yun-Li Yin, Zaw Zaw, Xin-Hua Peng, Hui Zhang, Pei-Li Fu, Wen-Li Wang, Achim Braeuning, Ze-Xin Fan
Summary: High-resolution paleoclimate proxy records are lacking in southwest China's subtropical region. In this study, we constructed a tree ring-width chronology of Tsuga dumosa in central Yunnan Province to gain insights into hydroclimate variability. Our reconstruction of the March-June Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) from 1826 to 2020 CE showed inter-annual to inter-decadal variations and an increasing occurrence of severe dry or wet events in recent years. The high frequency cycle of 2-8 years in our drought reconstruction series captures hydrological signals over a larger area.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Shijie Wang, Wenmin Man, Feng Chen, Youping Chen, Shulong Yu, Honghua Cao, Mao Hu, Tiyuan Hou, Martin A. Hadad, Fidel A. Roig
Summary: Considerable advances have been made in dendroclimatic reconstruction in the eastern monsoon region of China in recent decades. Springtime precipitation has been identified as the main factor limiting the radial growth of pine trees in the Qinling-Bashan mountainous area. A precipitation reconstruction spanning 1760-2020 CE was developed based on tree ring chronologies in the southeast of Shaanxi Province. The reconstruction accounted for a significant portion of the total precipitation variance during the instrumental period. The analysis also revealed the impact of low precipitation on severe drought and locust plague events, and the correlation between the reconstructed precipitation and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) variability.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alejandro Miranda, Alexandra D. Syphard, Miguel Berdugo, Jaime Carrasco, Susana Gomez-Gonzalez, Juan F. Ovalle, Cristian A. Delpiano, Solange Vargas, Francisco A. Squeo, Marcelo D. Miranda, Cynnamon Dobbs, Rayen Mentler, Antonio Lara, Rene Garreaud
Summary: This study assessed the climate and productivity trends of five Mediterranean forest ecosystems and found a large-scale forest browning and productivity decline in Chile. This change, occurring within a short period of time, is a response to a sustained, severe drought and may serve as a warning for other Mediterranean ecosystems in the future.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vassilios N. Grigoriadis, Vassilios D. Andritsanos, Dimitrios A. Natsiopoulos, Georgios S. Vergos, Ilias N. Tziavos
Summary: In this study, the contribution of different global geopotential models in geoid computation is examined using the remove-compute-restore approach. Gravity measurements were conducted in two test areas in Greece, and the measurements were used along with selected geopotential models to produce the reduced gravity field and derive the residual gravity field. These geoid models were validated with gravity/GNSS/leveling measurements, and the accuracy was influenced by the inclusion of non-recent data and the geopotential model used.
Article
Agronomy
Shoudong Zhao, Yuan Jiang, Yan Wen, Liang Jiao, Wenqing Li, Hui Xu, Minghu Ding
Summary: This study reported a tree ring network in North China, finding that the frequency of locally absent rings (LAR) in Pinus tabuliformis has increased in recent decades, especially in dry regions. The frequency of LAR increased with age, decreasing previous September moisture, and decreasing May moisture, indicating older trees may face higher LAR risk in the future. The frequent occurrence of LAR in semi-arid pine forests is connected to extreme droughts, suggesting LAR can serve as a proxy for potential tipping points of forest systems.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Kathryn Allen, Stephen B. Stewart, Carly Tozer, Doug Richardson, Craig Nitschke, James Risbey, Andrew Dowdy, Matthew Brookhouse, Paul Fox-Hughes, Mike Peterson, Patrick J. Baker
Summary: Climate projections indicate that dangerous fire weather will become more common in the future. By examining tree-ring data from southeastern Australia, it is possible to reconstruct the number of high fire-danger days in the January-March season. The findings show an increase in high fire-danger days in the past four decades compared to the previous 390 years.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Ana-Maria Ciobotaru, Nilanchal Patel, Radu-Daniel Pintilii
Summary: This study presents a thorough approach to analyzing tree cover loss in the Mediterranean Region using Landsat imagery from 2001-2019. Statistical operations were used to supplement the analysis, confirming the impact of agricultural expansion, forest fires, illegal logging, and other activities on the stability of the Mediterranean forest ecosystem.
Review
Plant Sciences
Laura Fernandez-de-Una, Jordi Martinez-Vilalta, Rafael Poyatos, Maurizio Mencuccini, Nate G. McDowell
Summary: Observations have shown that larger trees have higher mortality than smaller trees during droughts, which has sparked interest in understanding the size-dependent drought-induced mortality. However, the physiological mechanisms behind this phenomenon are not well understood, with height-associated hydraulic constraints being suggested as a potential mechanism. This study quantitatively synthesizes the changes in key traits related to plant water and carbon economy with tree height within species, and assesses the implications of different constraints and compensations on the mechanisms affecting tree vulnerability to drought.
Article
Forestry
Diego Walder, Patrik Krebs, Harald Bugmann, Maria Chiara Manetti, Martina Pollastrini, Solaria Anzillotti, Marco Conedera
Summary: The study reveals that silver fir can thrive well at low elevations under meso-Mediterranean climatic conditions, with summer drought being a key influencing factor for growth. As long as there is sufficient soil water holding capacity, silver fir has the potential to grow successfully under warm Mediterranean conditions.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
J. Julio Camarero, Filipe Campelo, Jose Antonio Sanchez-Sancho, Jose Carlos Santana
Summary: This study assessed the radial growth response to drought in coexisting service trees and oak species in three Mediterranean sites in Spain. The results showed that service trees were less sensitive to drought compared to oaks, especially to longer droughts. This suggests that selecting drought-tolerant minor hardwood species could be a viable alternative in seasonally dry areas.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Francesco Pirotti, Opeyemi Adedipe, Brigitte Leblon
Summary: This study investigates the sensitivity of Sentinel-1 C-band backscatter to the moisture content of tree canopies in a specific area in Portugal. The results show that the backscatter values are inversely correlated with the local incidence angle over canopies, and the correlation is stronger in wet scenarios. The backscatter values can discriminate between wet and dry forest environments, but are less sensitive to the transition between dry and extremely dry conditions. The study also finds that C-VH backscatter is more sensitive in capturing burnt canopies and can capture post-fire recovery after approximately 360 days.
