Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Environmental science

Trends in ecosystem recovery from drought

Nature volume 548, pages 164–165 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

An analysis suggests that the time taken for ecosystems to recover from drought increased during the twentieth century. If the frequency of drought events rises, some ecosystems might never have the chance to fully recover. See Letter p.202

On page 202, Schwalm et al.1 assess historical trends in the recovery of ecosystems from drought, using three state-of-the-art data sets of gross primary productivity (GPP) — the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is fixed in ecosystems by photosynthesis. Intriguingly, the analysis suggests that the total area of ecosystems that are in a post-drought recovery state increased during the twentieth century. Moreover, the authors identify areas where the drought-recovery time is particularly long, and which might, therefore, be particularly vulnerable to more-frequent droughts.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Effects of changes to recurrent environmental stressors.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Schwalm, C. R. et al. Nature 548, 202–205 (2017).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Collins, M. et al. in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Stocker, T. F. et al.) 1029–1136 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013).

  3. Seneviratne, S. I. et al. in Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Field, C. B. et al.) 109–230 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2012).

  4. Knapp, A. K. et al. BioScience 58, 811–821 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Anderegg, W. R. L. et al. Science 349, 528–532 (2015).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Frank, D. et al. Glob. Change Biol. 21, 2861–2880 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. van der Molen, M. K. et al. Agric. Forest Meteorol. 151, 765–773 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Huntzinger, D. N. et al. Geosci. Model Dev. 6, 2121–2133 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhao, M. & Running, S. W. Science 329, 940–943 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Jung, M. et al. J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci. 116, G00J07 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. De Kauwe, M. G., Keenan, T. F., Medlyn, B. E., Prentice, I. C. & Terrer, C. Nature Clim. Change 6, 892–893 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Seneviratne, S. I. et al. Earth-Sci. Rev. 99, 125–161 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Beguería, S., Vicente-Serrano, S. M., Reig, F. & Latorre, B. Int. J. Climatol. 34, 3001–3023 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Sheffield, J., Wood, E. F. & Roderick, M. L. Nature 491, 435–438 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Orlowsky, B. & Seneviratne, S. I. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 17, 1765–1781 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Milly, P. C. D. & Dunne, K. A. Nature Clim. Change 6, 946–949 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Zhang, X. et al. WIREs Clim. Change 2, 851–870 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland

    Sonia I. Seneviratne

  2. the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91191, France

    Philippe Ciais

Authors
  1. Sonia I. Seneviratne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Philippe Ciais
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sonia I. Seneviratne.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Ecology: Drought in the Congo Basin

Atmospheric science: Drought and fire change sink to source

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Seneviratne, S., Ciais, P. Trends in ecosystem recovery from drought. Nature 548, 164–165 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/548164a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/548164a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing