What impacts can severe droughts have on local ecosystems? This is what a recent study published in Science hopes to address as an international team of almost 200 researchers investigated how drought strength and period could impact plant production worldwide. This study has the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, legislators, and the public better understand the long-term impacts of worsening climate change, specifically regarding a lack of rainfall.
For the study, the researchers used a series of computer models to simulate extreme worldwide droughts and the long-term effects on local ecosystems, specifically shrublands and grasslands. The goal of the study was to ascertain how each ecosystem responded to extreme drought to better understand ecosystem resilience. In the end, the researchers found declines in plant production up to 29 percent in moderate-drought years while observing increased losses in more severe drought years. Additionally, the researchers found that results varied from region to region based on local precipitation, soil, and vegetation.
“We show that – when combined – extreme, multi-year droughts have even more profound effects than a single year of extreme drought or multi-year moderate droughts,” said Dr. Melinda Smith, who is a professor in the Department of Biology at Colorado State University and second author of the study. “The Dust Bowl is a good example of this. Although it spanned nearly a decade it was only when there were consecutive extremely dry years that those effects, such as soil erosion and dust storms, occurred. Now with our changing climate, Dust Bowl-type droughts are expected to occur more frequently.”
This study comes as climate change continues to bring more severe and longer droughts worldwide, specifically with increased summer temperatures. Therefore, studies like this can help identify weak spots across the globe where ecosystems might be mor vulnerable, and what steps can be taken to mitigate further damage.
How will extreme droughts impact worldwide plant production in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Science, EurekAlert!
Featured Image: The Semi-arid Grassland Research Center in northern Colorado, which was used for the study. (Credit: Colorado State University College of Natural Sciences)