Zhao et al. (2025) Spatiotemporal evolution of compound soil drought-heat events and their impact mechanisms on ecosystem productivity across China

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Environmental Management
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-19
• Authors: Youzhu Zhao, Luchen Wang, Qiuxiang Jiang, Zilong Wang, Xinyu Guo
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127981

Research Groups

School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China

Short Summary

This study developed a method to identify compound soil drought-heat events, revealing their increasing spatiotemporal evolution and impact mechanisms on Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) across China, highlighting regional variations in ecosystem response and recovery.

Objective

• To identify compound soil drought-heat events and systematically reveal their spatiotemporal evolution patterns and impact mechanisms on Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) across seven climatic zones in China.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: China, specifically across seven climatic zones including northwestern arid regions, southern tropical humid margins, subtropical humid central and south China, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, northeast regions, and North China.
• Temporal Scale: Since 2000.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: A developed method to identify compound soil drought-heat events; Machine learning for mechanism analysis.
• Data sources: Not explicitly stated in the provided text, but involves data on soil moisture, temperature, Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), potential evapotranspiration, and precipitation.

Main Results

• Compound soil drought-heat events exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity, with the highest occurrence rates in northwestern arid regions and southern tropical humid margins. Since 2000, both the frequency and severity of these events have significantly increased.
• These events generally lead to a decline in GPP across China, with the most pronounced negative anomalies in subtropical humid central and south China. Vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and northeast regions shows stronger resistance.
• Recovery time analysis indicates enhanced recovery ability in the southern fringe of the tropical humid region after 2000, while recovery time in North China has been prolonged, suggesting regulation by regional climatic backgrounds and adaptive strategies.
• GPP anomalies are primarily driven by the frequency of compound soil drought-heat events, whereas recovery time is controlled by potential evapotranspiration and precipitation.

Contributions

• Revealed the multidimensional driving mechanisms of vegetation responses under compound soil drought-heat events in China.
• Provided scientific evidence for regional ecosystem adaptation management and extreme climate risk assessment.

Funding

Not explicitly stated in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Zhao2025Spatiotemporal,
  author = {Zhao, Youzhu and Wang, Luchen and Jiang, Qiuxiang and Wang, Zilong and Guo, Xinyu},
  title = {Spatiotemporal evolution of compound soil drought-heat events and their impact mechanisms on ecosystem productivity across China},
  journal = {Journal of Environmental Management},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127981},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127981}
}