Sun et al. (2026) Land use and land cover change intensified soil moisture drought: evidence from CMIP6-LUMIP

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

Identification

• Journal: Environmental Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-03-03
• Authors: Jiamin Sun, Aihui Wang
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ae4ca5

Research Groups

• CMIP6 Land Use Model Intercomparison Project (LUMIP)
• Research groups involved in the development and application of CESM2 (Community Earth System Model version 2)

Short Summary

This study quantifies the long-term impacts of historical land use and land cover change (LULCC) on global soil moisture drought (SMD) characteristics from 1901-2014, finding that LULCC significantly intensifies SMD over more than half of the global land area by altering surface energy partitioning and depleting soil water storage.

Objective

• To quantify the impacts of historical land use and land cover change (LULCC) on global soil moisture drought (SMD) characteristics (event number, duration, severity, intensity) over the period 1901-2014.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global land area, with specific focus on mid-latitude regions and central North America.
• Temporal Scale: 1901-2014 (114 years) for long-term trends; diagnostic analyses focused on the boreal growing season.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Seven offline land surface simulations from the CMIP6 Land Use Model Intercomparison Project (LUMIP). CESM2 (Community Earth System Model version 2) experiments for diagnostic analyses.
• Data sources: Model simulations (CMIP6 LUMIP, CESM2 experiments).

Main Results

• Historical LULCC intensifies soil moisture drought (SMD) over more than half of the global land area.
• The strongest increases in SMD intensity are observed in mid-latitude regions, particularly central North America.
• Drought-affected areas expanded throughout the twentieth century, with drought events becoming increasingly prolonged and severe.
• Diagnostic analyses indicate that the transition from natural vegetation to cropland and pasture:
  • Slightly reduces surface net radiation.
  • Enhances latent heat flux at the expense of sensible heat flux.
  • This biophysical shift depletes soil water storage, subsequently amplifying SMD occurrence and intensity.

Contributions

• Provides a comprehensive quantification of the long-term contribution of historical LULCC to global SMD trends using multiple CMIP6 LUMIP simulations.
• Identifies historical LULCC as a critical amplifier of SMD, highlighting its significant role in drought dynamics.
• Elucidates the biophysical mechanisms through which LULCC amplifies SMD, specifically changes in surface energy partitioning and soil water depletion.
• Underscores the necessity of incorporating land-use dynamics into future drought attribution studies, risk assessments, and adaptation planning.

Funding

• Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Sun2026Land,
  author = {Sun, Jiamin and Wang, Aihui},
  title = {Land use and land cover change intensified soil moisture drought: evidence from CMIP6-LUMIP},
  journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/ae4ca5},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae4ca5}
}