Probabilistic assessments of the impacts of compound dry and hot events on global vegetation during growing seasons

The response of vegetation to climate extremes, including droughts and hot extremes, has been evaluated extensively in recent decades. However, quantitative assessments of individual and combined impacts of dry and hot conditions on vegetation are rather limited. In this study, we developed a multivariate approach for analyzing vegetation responses to dry, hot, and compound dry-hot conditions from a probabilistic perspective using precipitation, temperature, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the period from 1982 to 2015. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Temperature Index (STI) were used to define individual and compound dry and hot conditions. Based on the diagnosis of the correlation between SPI/STI and NDVI during growing seasons, we investigated the conditional probability of vegetation decline under different climate conditions. The results showed that vegetation was affected by compound dry and hot conditions (defined as SPI <= -1.3 and STI > 1.3) in arid and semi-arid regions. In these regions, the conditional probabilities of vegetation decline under compound dry and hot conditions increased by 7% and 28% compared with those under individual dry and hot conditions, respectively. The impact of compound dry and hot events on vegetation for different biomes was also assessed. Temperate grassland was found to be particularly vulnerable to compound dry and hot conditions. This study highlights the necessity of considering compound dry and hot extremes when assessing vegetation responses to climate extremes under global warming.

Automated summary

The study found that vegetation is significantly affected by drought and hot conditions, especially in arid and semi-arid regions; moreover, the combined impact of drought and hot conditions on vegetation may pose a greater risk of decline to a wider range.