Pan et al. (2025) Why Hydrological Memory Dominates in Low‐Latitude Highlands: A Mechanistic Shift in Ecosystem Response to Extremes

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: AGU Advances
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-12
• Authors: Wei Pan, Li Dan, Jing Peng, Qing Yang, Hui Zheng, Fuqiang Yang, Kai Li, Peng Zhou, Younong Li, Shuaichen He
• DOI: 10.1029/2025av001973

Research Groups

Not specified in abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigates how the pre-stress state of ecosystems determines their response to compound extreme events, revealing a shift in land-atmosphere interaction paradigms (from water-limited to energy-governed) driven by antecedent root zone soil moisture.

Objective

• To explain mechanistic changes in land-atmosphere interactions during extreme events by comparing two major events in a monsoon-influenced, low-latitude highlands setting, specifically focusing on how the pre-stress state determines the basic response mechanism.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Monsoon-influenced, low-latitude highlands.
• Temporal Scale: Two major extreme events: 2010 drought and 2019 heatwave.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Nonlinear structural equation modeling.
• Data sources: Extensive set of remote sensing data, reanalysis data.

Main Results

• The ecosystem response shifted from a traditional water-limited paradigm during the 2010 drought to an energy-governed paradigm during the 2019 heatwave.
• This transition is governed by the antecedent root zone soil moisture status, which acts as a tipping point.
• The antecedent root zone soil moisture fundamentally shifts the impact of atmospheric factors (such as temperature and vapor pressure deficit) on canopy evapotranspiration.

Contributions

• Highlights a possible threshold-type state dependence non-linearity in ecosystem responses, which is currently lacking in major Earth System Models.
• Emphasizes the crucial role of "hydrological memory" for minimizing uncertainties in climate projections and accurately assessing ecosystem vulnerability in a warming world.

Funding

Not specified in abstract.

Citation

@article{Pan2025Why,
  author = {Pan, Wei and Dan, Li and Peng, Jing and Yang, Qing and Zheng, Hui and Yang, Fuqiang and Li, Kai and Zhou, Peng and Li, Younong and He, Shuaichen},
  title = {Why Hydrological Memory Dominates in Low‐Latitude Highlands: A Mechanistic Shift in Ecosystem Response to Extremes},
  journal = {AGU Advances},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025av001973},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025av001973}
}