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Linking biosphere with lithosphere by assessing how earthquakes affect forest growth

Earthquakes not only affect tree growth directly by causing physical injury to individual trees but also indirectly by inducing changes in forest habitats. We established linkage between tree-ring series and seismic disturbances and found that prominent and lasting seismic legacies in drier areas may be due to an increased infiltration of precipitation through earthquake-induced soil cracks.

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Fig. 1: Changes of tree-growth response to monthly precipitation following earthquakes in dry areas of western North America (WNA).

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This is a summary of: Gao, S. et al. Shifts of forest resilience after seismic disturbances in tectonically active regions. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01380-x (2024).

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Linking biosphere with lithosphere by assessing how earthquakes affect forest growth. Nat. Geosci. 17, 179–180 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01381-w

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