The Response and Recovery of Carbon and Water Fluxes in Australian Ecosystems Exposed to Severe Drought.

ABSTRACT: Climate change-driven increases in drought risk pose a critical threat to global carbon and water cycles. However, ecosystem-scale responses remain poorly quantified, particularly for severe, multiyear drought events. We addressed this gap by examining ecosystem-scale carbon and water flux sensitivity to the extreme 2018-19 drought in Australia using data from 14 eddy covariance flux sites. The ecosystems span grasslands and semi-arid woodlands to tropical and temperate forests. The driest sites (classed as "grass" and "very dry") experienced drastic productivity impacts, with a 65% decrease in Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) over 2 years relative to the pre-drought average. However, fluxes in "dry," "seasonally wet" and "wet" ecosystems showed remarkable resistance, with no overall chang

SUBMITTER: Stephens C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12291013 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature