Dataset Information

Rising ecosystem water demand exacerbates the lengthening of tropical dry seasons.

ABSTRACT: Precipitation-based assessments show a lengthening of tropical dry seasons under climate change, without considering simultaneous changes in ecosystem water demand. Here, we compare changes in tropical dry season length and timing when dry season is defined as the period when precipitation is less than: its climatological average, potential evapotranspiration, or actual evapotranspiration. While all definitions show more widespread tropical drying than wetting for 1983-2016, we find the largest fraction (48.7%) of tropical land probably experiencing longer dry seasons when dry season is defined as the period when precipitation cannot meet the need of actual evapotranspiration. Southern Amazonia (due to delayed end) and central Africa (due to earlier onset and delayed end) are hotspots of dry season lengthening, with greater certainty when accounting for water demand changes. Therefore, it is necessary to account for changing water demand when characterizing changes in tropical dry periods and ecosystem water deficits.

SUBMITTER: Xu H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9283447 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Rising ecosystem water demand exacerbates the lengthening of tropical dry seasons.

Xu Hao H Lian Xu X Slette Ingrid J IJ Yang Hui H Zhang Yuan Y Chen Anping A Piao Shilong S

Nature communications 20220714 1

Precipitation-based assessments show a lengthening of tropical dry seasons under climate change, without considering simultaneous changes in ecosystem water demand. Here, we compare changes in tropical dry season length and timing when dry season is defined as the period when precipitation is less than: its climatological average, potential evapotranspiration, or actual evapotranspiration. While all definitions show more widespread tropical drying than wetting for 1983-2016, we find the largest ...[more]

PMID: 35835788

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionPearlmillet is themain subsistence crop for smallholder farmers systemswhere it is grown at low plant density. Intensifying pearl millet cultivation could boost productivity although it may have trade-offs. Increasing planting density would indeed increase the leaf area and the related water budget, whereas a denser canopy could create a more favorable canopymicroclimate to the benefit of the water use efficiency (WUE) of the crops. The first aim of this work was to test the yield response of popular pearlmillet varieties to an increased density and to assess possible genotypic variation in this response. The second aim was to measure the water use and the WUE of the crop in different densities.MethodTo this end we designed several field and lysimetric experiments To increase the robustness of the results, these trials were carried out in India and Senegal, using two independent sets of genotypes adapted to both sites.ResultsIn the field, the higher sowing density significantly increased yield in all genotypes when trials were carried out in high evaporative demand conditions. There was no genotype x density interaction in these trials, suggesting no genotypic variation in the response to density increase. The high-density treatment also decreased the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in the canopies, both in the field and in the lysimeter experiments. In the lysimeter trials, although the higher density treatment increased water use, the resulting increase in biomass was proportionally higher, hence increasingWUE of the crops in all genotypes under high density. The increase in yield under high density was closely related to the increase in WUE, although this link was more tight in the high- than in the low evaporative demand seasons. This confirmed a strong environmental effect on the response to density of all genotypes tested.DiscussionAlthough they did not open a scope for breeding density tolerant cultivars, these results highlight the possibility to improve pearl millet yield by increasing the density, targeting specifically areas facing high evaporative demand.

Dataset Information

Rising ecosystem water demand exacerbates the lengthening of tropical dry seasons.

Publications

Rising ecosystem water demand exacerbates the lengthening of tropical dry seasons.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets