Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Post-Drought Vegetation Shifts Lead to Divergent Carbon, Water and Energy Responses in a Savanna Ecosystem of Southwest China

Gnanamoorthy, Palingamoorthy ; Zhao, Junbin ; Chen, Yajun ; Jiao, Linjie ; Sawasdchai, Boonsiri ; Jing, Zhang ; Chakraborty, Abhishek ; Burman, Pramit Kumar Deb ; Lee, Sung-Ching and Pugh, Thomas A M LU , et al. (2026) In Ecology Letters 29(1).
Abstract

Increasing drought frequency and intensity affect biophysical functions of natural ecosystems. In tropical semi-arid savannas, while immediate drought effects are well-studied, the drought legacy effects on vegetation composition and associated ecosystem functions remain unclear. We used data of vegetation composition, net ecosystem CO
2 exchange, surface albedo and evapotranspiration (ET) in 2017-2022 from a savanna ecosystem, Southwest China, to investigate the legacy effect of an extreme drought event that occurred in 2019. Vegetation declined continuously for 3 post-drought years. While tree numbers declined by 12%, shrub numbers dropped by 50% compared with pre-drought levels, shifting vegetation dominance toward trees. This... (More)

Increasing drought frequency and intensity affect biophysical functions of natural ecosystems. In tropical semi-arid savannas, while immediate drought effects are well-studied, the drought legacy effects on vegetation composition and associated ecosystem functions remain unclear. We used data of vegetation composition, net ecosystem CO
2 exchange, surface albedo and evapotranspiration (ET) in 2017-2022 from a savanna ecosystem, Southwest China, to investigate the legacy effect of an extreme drought event that occurred in 2019. Vegetation declined continuously for 3 post-drought years. While tree numbers declined by 12%, shrub numbers dropped by 50% compared with pre-drought levels, shifting vegetation dominance toward trees. This structural change caused sustained reductions in albedo and ET, which remained below pre-drought levels, despite gross primary production recovering in the years immediately post-drought. Vegetation shifts disproportionately impact ecosystem functions, with energy and water fluxes exhibiting greater vulnerability and potentially enhancing regional warming as droughts increase in Asian savannas.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
China, Grassland, Droughts, Carbon/metabolism, Water/metabolism, Trees/physiology, Ecosystem, Climate Change
in
Ecology Letters
volume
29
issue
1
article number
e70321
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:41588578
  • scopus:105028772204
ISSN
1461-023X
DOI
10.1111/ele.70321
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
© 2026 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
id
60d1bf32-65ff-430d-80c7-c3542e081904
date added to LUP
2026-02-23 09:06:45
date last changed
2026-02-24 04:00:53
@article{60d1bf32-65ff-430d-80c7-c3542e081904,
  abstract     = {{<p>Increasing drought frequency and intensity affect biophysical functions of natural ecosystems. In tropical semi-arid savannas, while immediate drought effects are well-studied, the drought legacy effects on vegetation composition and associated ecosystem functions remain unclear. We used data of vegetation composition, net ecosystem CO<br>
 2 exchange, surface albedo and evapotranspiration (ET) in 2017-2022 from a savanna ecosystem, Southwest China, to investigate the legacy effect of an extreme drought event that occurred in 2019. Vegetation declined continuously for 3 post-drought years. While tree numbers declined by 12%, shrub numbers dropped by 50% compared with pre-drought levels, shifting vegetation dominance toward trees. This structural change caused sustained reductions in albedo and ET, which remained below pre-drought levels, despite gross primary production recovering in the years immediately post-drought. Vegetation shifts disproportionately impact ecosystem functions, with energy and water fluxes exhibiting greater vulnerability and potentially enhancing regional warming as droughts increase in Asian savannas.<br>
 </p>}},
  author       = {{Gnanamoorthy, Palingamoorthy and Zhao, Junbin and Chen, Yajun and Jiao, Linjie and Sawasdchai, Boonsiri and Jing, Zhang and Chakraborty, Abhishek and Burman, Pramit Kumar Deb and Lee, Sung-Ching and Pugh, Thomas A M and Zhang, Yiping and Song, Qinghai}},
  issn         = {{1461-023X}},
  keywords     = {{China; Grassland; Droughts; Carbon/metabolism; Water/metabolism; Trees/physiology; Ecosystem; Climate Change}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecology Letters}},
  title        = {{Post-Drought Vegetation Shifts Lead to Divergent Carbon, Water and Energy Responses in a Savanna Ecosystem of Southwest China}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.70321}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/ele.70321}},
  volume       = {{29}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}