Vulnerability of European ecosystems to two compound dry and hot summers in 2018 and 2019

• Published in: Earth system dynamics Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 1015 - 1035
• Main Authors: Bastos, Ana, Orth, René, Reichstein, Markus, Ciais, Philippe, Viovy, Nicolas, Zaehle, Sönke, Anthoni, Peter, Arneth, Almut, Gentine, Pierre, Joetzjer, Emilie, Lienert, Sebastian, Loughran, Tammas, McGuire, Patrick C, O, Sungmin, Pongratz, Julia, Sitch, Stephen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gottingen Copernicus GmbH 15.10.2021; European Geosciences Union; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Amplification; Analysis; Anomalies; Browning; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Climate; Climate and vegetation; Climate change; Continental interfaces, environment; Depletion; Drought; Drought damage; Ecosystems; Environmental aspects; Environmental factors; Environmental impact; Grasslands; Heat; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; Hot summers; Mathematical models; MODIS; Ocean, Atmosphere; Preconditioning; Productivity; Sciences of the Universe; Sensitivity; Simulation; Stability; Statistical analysis; Statistical models; Summer; Variables; Vegetation; Vegetation index; Vulnerability; Europe
• ISSN: 2190-4987; 2190-4979; 2190-4987
• DOI: 10.5194/esd-12-1015-2021

In 2018 and 2019, central Europe was affected by two consecutive extreme dry and hot summers (DH18 and DH19). The DH18 event had severe impacts on ecosystems and likely affected vegetation activity in the subsequent year, for example through depletion of carbon reserves or damage from drought. Such legacies from drought and heat stress can further increase vegetation susceptibility to additional hazards. Temporally compound extremes such as DH18 and DH19 can, therefore, result in an amplification of impacts due to preconditioning effects of past disturbance legacies.