Publication
Title
Summer soil drying exacerbated by earlier spring greening of northern vegetation
Author
Abstract
Earlier vegetation greening under climate change raises evapotranspiration and thus lowers spring soil moisture, yet the extent and magnitude of this water deficit persistence into the following summer remain elusive. We provide observational evidence that increased foliage cover over the Northern Hemisphere, during 1982-2011, triggers an additional soil moisture deficit that is further carried over into summer. Climate model simulations independently support this and attribute the driving process to be larger increases in evapotranspiration than in precipitation. This extra soil drying is projected to amplify the frequency and intensity of summer heatwaves. Most feedbacks operate locally, except for a notable teleconnection where extra moisture transpired over Europe is transported to central Siberia. Model results illustrate that this teleconnection offsets Siberian soil moisture losses from local spring greening. Our results highlight that climate change adaptation planning must account for the extra summer water and heatwave stress inherited from warming-induced earlier greening.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Science Advances
Publication
2020
ISSN
2375-2548
DOI
10.1126/SCIADV.AAX0255
Volume/pages
6 :1 (2020) , 11 p.
Article Reference
eaax0255
ISI
000507552400010
Pubmed ID
31922002
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Effects of phosphorus limitations on Life, Earth system and Society (IMBALANCE-P).
Global Ecosystem Functioning and Interactions with Global Change.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.02.2020
Last edited 02.10.2024
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