Remotely sensed predictors of conifer tree mortality during severe drought

Widespread, drought-induced forest mortality has been documented on every forested continent over the last two decades, yet early pre-mortality indicators of tree death remain poorly understood. Remotely sensed physiological-based measures offer a means for large-scale analysis to understand and pre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental research letters 2017-11, Vol.12 (11), p.115013
Main Authors: Brodrick, P G, Asner, G P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerial surveys
California
Canopies
canopy water content
Community composition
Coniferous forests
Coniferous trees
Conifers
Drought
forest vulnerability
Herbivores
imaging spectroscopy
Indicators
Mortality
Mountains
progressive water stress
Remote sensing
Sierra Nevada
Spectroscopy
Water loss
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Summary:Widespread, drought-induced forest mortality has been documented on every forested continent over the last two decades, yet early pre-mortality indicators of tree death remain poorly understood. Remotely sensed physiological-based measures offer a means for large-scale analysis to understand and predict drought-induced mortality. Here, we use laser-guided imaging spectroscopy from multiple years of aerial surveys to assess the impact of sustained canopy water loss on tree mortality. We analyze both gross canopy mortality in 2016 and the change in mortality between 2015 and 2016 in millions of sampled conifer forest locations throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. On average, sustained water loss and gross mortality are strongly related, and year-to-year water loss within the drought indicates subsequent mortality. Both relationships are consistent after controlling for location and tree community composition, suggesting that these metrics may serve as indicators of mortality during a drought.
ISSN:1748-9326
1748-9326
DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/aa8f55