MSGID: 1:317/3 63f59a71   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Researcher discovers threshold that triggers drought response in forests   
      
      
     Date:   
         February 21, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Missouri-Columbia   
     Summary:   
         Missouri is home to an array of natural resources, with forests   
         among the state's most valuable ecosystems. As warmer temperatures   
         fueled by climate change affect ecosystems globally, forests are   
         under stress to adapt to these changes and ensure their survival   
         in a warmer world.   
      
         Researchers now introduce the 'ecosystem wilting point' concept,   
         which explains how whole forests respond to drought.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Missouri is home to an array of natural resources, with forests among   
   the state's most valuable ecosystems. As warmer temperatures fueled by   
   climate change affect ecosystems globally, forests are under stress to   
   adapt to these changes and ensure their survival in a warmer world.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   In a new study, University of Missouri researcher Jeffrey Wood introduces   
   the "ecosystem wilting point" concept, which explains how whole forests   
   respond to drought. Wood and his research team found that when forests   
   reach their ecosystem wilting point, they are less able to function   
   properly, which includes their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. To   
   learn how the forest behaved during periods of drought, Wood combined   
   measurements of evapotranspiration (the loss of water to the air) and   
   ecosystem water status, which indicates how hydrated the forest is.   
      
   "The motivating reason for being able to understand the drought response   
   of forests is that, globally, drought is important now, and it's not   
   expected to get better," said Wood, an assistant professor in the College   
   of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. "We wanted to develop a   
   better way to understand and characterize these ecosystems, so we can   
   use that information to help with modeling the dynamics of vegetation   
   over time and better understand the future impact on these ecosystems."   
   In pursuit of understanding the nuances of forests' stress, Wood and   
   his co- authors reanalyzed data collected during an extreme drought   
   event that took place in 2012 in Baskett Forest, an outdoor laboratory   
   of 2,266 acres located five miles east of Ashland, Missouri. This study   
   uses a method that was initially developed to understand the interaction   
   between water and an individual cell. That method was later applied to   
   leaves, and then Wood extended it in this study to analyze a whole forest.   
      
   In this study, this oak-hickory forest in central Missouri reaches its   
   ecosystem wilting point between 2-4 weeks of extreme drought. At that   
   point, the forest would need soaking rainfall to rejuvenate.   
      
   "The ecosystem wilting point is functionally significant in that when   
   the forest passes that threshold, there is a noticeable change in how   
   the forest is behaving," Wood said. "When you get into that highly   
   stressed state, the forest is quite unresponsive to changes in the   
   environment. So, when the sun comes up, you would tend to think that   
   the forest turns on and starts to photosynthesize, but if the forest   
   is past its ecosystem wilting point, it has a very limited capacity   
   to respond to the changes in light in terms of carbon dioxide uptake   
   because it's under so much stress."  This study offers insight into   
   the water relations of whole forests, a useful tool for researchers   
   exploring how forests across the globe handle temperature variations --   
   something Wood emphasizes is important as scientists manage forests in   
   a way that prepares them to better withstand climate change.   
      
   "Forests are pretty important; they're connected to weather and the   
   climate in ways that we still don't fully understand," Wood said.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Ecology_Research # Drought # Trees # Nature   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Forest # Ecosystems # Ecology # Rainforests   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Forestry o Forest o Conservation_ethic o Deforestation   
             o Marine_conservation o Slash_and_burn o Water_scarcity   
             o Biodiversity   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Missouri-Columbia. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jeffrey D. Wood, Lianhong Gu, Paul J. Hanson, Christian Frankenberg,   
         Lawren Sack. The ecosystem wilting point defines drought response   
         and recovery of a Quercus‐Carya forest. Global Change Biology,   
         2023; DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16582   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230221180113.htm   
      
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