Impacts of increasing drought on temperate forests: what we've seen so far and what may be yet to come

Citation

Jump A (2010) Impacts of increasing drought on temperate forests: what we've seen so far and what may be yet to come. International Workshop on Adaptation of Perennial Plants to Episodic Drought: Impact on Ecosystems, Gottingen, Germany, 06.10.2010-08.10.2010. http://www.kliff-niedersachsen.de.vweb5-test.gwdg.de/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Programm-Workshop-6-8.10.101.pdf

Abstract
Increases in temperature and drought stress linked to global climate change are having wide ranging impacts on forest trees, from their ecology and distribution to their adaptation and survival. In some regions, increasing temperatures facilitate population expansion, while in others, increases in drought driven by these temperature increases are can result in growth decline. Some negative impacts of reduced water availability might be offset by increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by increasing water-use efficiency in individual trees. However, there is abundant evidence from mountain regions that woody species are shifting upwards in altitude: expanding populations at their upper limits are accompanied by declining growth and increased mortality lower down. I will discuss recent work on ecological and biogeographical responses to elevated drought in temperate tree species. I will finish with a discussion of the application of mountain-based studies to lowland regions and their wider implications, from biodiversity to ecosystem services.