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An Integrative Ecological Drought Framework to Span Plant Stress to Ecosystem Transformation

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Abstract

Droughts have increased globally in the twenty-first century and are expected to become more extreme and widespread in the future. Assessments of how drought affects plants and ecosystems lack consistency in scope and methodology, confounding efforts to mechanistically interpret structural and functional impacts and predict future transformations under climate change. To promote integration among studies, we identify water deficit conditions that are ecologically meaningful, clarify the stages in which ecological drought progresses, and consider approaches to synthesize drought effects across multiple species and ecosystems. This improved ecological drought framework reveals advantages of using different ecological drought metrics and strengthens approaches to distinguish ecosystem stress from crossing an irreversible threshold. We employ several well-studied examples from water-limited ecosystems, which contain plants that are often at their physiological limits and highly responsive to climate variability. We suggest that emerging research on early warning signs, drought recovery, and the effects of land management interventions be incorporated into the ecological drought framework. An integrative approach to understand ecological drought can accelerate scientific advancement and create opportunity to adapt and prepare for crossing irreversible ecosystem thresholds.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystem Mission Area. We thank three anonymous reviewers and the editor who provided constructive feedback that greatly improved the paper. Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this paper is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001, USA

    Seth M. Munson & John B. Bradford

  2. Department of Research, Conservation, and Collections, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona, 85008, USA

    Kevin R. Hultine

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  1. Seth M. Munson
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Correspondence to Seth M. Munson.

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SMM and JBB conceived the review. SMM, JBB, and KRH wrote the paper.

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Munson, S.M., Bradford, J.B. & Hultine, K.R. An Integrative Ecological Drought Framework to Span Plant Stress to Ecosystem Transformation. Ecosystems 24, 739–754 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00555-y

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