Linking Forest Flammability and Plant Vulnerability to Drought

A forest vulnerability index based on drought and high temperatures

A forest vulnerability index based on drought and high temperatures" (2016). USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications. 321. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Increasing forest stress and tree mortality has been directly linked to combinations of drought and high temperatures. The climatic changes expected during the next decades – large increases in mean temperature, increased heat wa...

Differences in Leaf Flammability, Leaf Traits and Flammability-Trait Relationships between Native and Exotic Plant Species of Dry Sclerophyll Forest

The flammability of plant leaves influences the spread of fire through vegetation. Exotic plants invading native vegetation may increase the spread of bushfires if their leaves are more flammable than native leaves. We compared fresh-leaf and dry-leaf flammability (time to ignition) between 52 native and 27 exotic plant species inhabiting dry sclerophyll forest. We found that mean time to ignit...

An interdisciplinary approach to better assess global change impacts and drought vulnerability on forest dynamics.

Studies of tree physiology within and outside the USA have historically focused on the impacts of environmental factors such as light, water and nutrients, and more recently on the global change factors of increasing CO2, ozone, and air and soil temperature, on various tree species ( Kramer and Kozlowski 1979, Norby et al. 1999, Hoeppner and Dukes 2012, Chung et al. 2013). One thing that has pl...

From pattern to process: linking intrinsic water-use efficiency to drought-induced forest decline

The rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations (Ca) has been related to tree growth enhancement and increasing intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE). However, the extent that rising Ca has led to increased long-term iWUE and whether climate could explain deviations from expected Ca-induced growth enhancement are still poorly understood. The aim of this research was to use Ca and local climatic vari...

Reducing Societal Vulnerability to Drought: Future Challenges