CONSEQUENCES OF DROUGHTS FOR WORLD FORESTS 3. ADAPTATION ASPECTS (REVIEW OF FOREIGN LITERATURE)
V. A. Usoltsev1,2
1Ural State Forest Engineering University, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
2Ural State University of Economics, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
Keywords: climate change, hot droughts, adaptation and death of trees, modeling
Abstract
Greenhouse gas emissions have significantly changed the global climate. An increase in the frequency, duration, and severity of drought and heat stress associated with climate change can fundamentally alter the composition, structure, and biogeography of forests in many regions. Of particular concern is the potential increase in tree shrinkage associated with the physiological stress caused by climate change and interaction with other related processes such as insect infestations and forest fires. Despite the noted risks, existing forecasts of tree shrinkage and forest death are based on models that lack functionally realistic physiological mechanisms. It has become obvious that the current understanding of the physiological responses of trees to drought remains very insufficient, and additional basic knowledge is needed to make realistic forecasts of forest loss in the face of rapid climate change. A hydraulic concept has been applied to quantify the mechanisms of tree death, and based on it, different responses to drought of isohydric and anisohydric species have been shown. The presented analysis of the global vulnerability of world forests to hot droughts in the Anthropocene has shown that it is greatly underestimated, including forests in regions with sufficient moisture. In general, despite the ongoing discussions and research regarding many specific mechanisms of forest death, the enormous efforts that the research community has made to clarify these mechanisms have allowed us to obtain significant physiological data indicating an increased vulnerability of forests to death during hot droughts.
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