Premium
Regional analysis of drought and heat impacts on forests: current and future science directions
Author(s) -
Law Beverly E.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.12651
Subject(s) - current (fluid) , environmental science , climate change , geography , environmental resource management , physical geography , climatology , ecology , geology , oceanography , biology
Accurate assessments of forest response to current and future climate and human actions are needed at regional scales. Predicting future impacts on forests will require improved analysis of species‐level adaptation, resilience, and vulnerability to mortality. Land system models can be enhanced by creating trait‐based groupings of species that better represent climate sensitivity, such as risk of hydraulic failure from drought. This emphasizes the need for more coordinated in situ and remote sensing observations to track changes in ecosystem function, and to improve model inputs, spatio‐temporal diagnosis, and predictions of future conditions, including implications of actions to mitigate climate change.