Assessing Vegetation Response to Multi-Scalar Drought across the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Deserts and Apache Highlands in the Southwest United States
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- How do the trends in water availability (SPEI) at different timescales vary by ecoregion?
- How does vegetation productivity (NDVI) respond to changes in water availability (SPEI)?
- For each ecoregion, what was the dominant timescale for the relationship?
- How uniform was the response of NDVI to SPEI across these ecoregions?
- Does this relationship change by dominant vegetation type?
- What do these results suggest about plant physiology responses to drought stress in these ecoregions?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Data
2.2.1. Vegetation Productivity (MODIS NDVI)
2.2.2. Climate Data (Temperature and Precipitation)
2.2.3. Drought Index (SPEI)
2.2.4. Landcover Data
2.3. Methods and Analysis
2.3.1. Long Term Trends and Variation of Different SPEI Timescales by Ecoregions
2.3.2. Correlation Analysis for the Relationship of NDVI to SPEI
3. Results
3.1. Long Term Trend and Variation of Different SPEI Timescales by Ecoregions
3.2. Seasonal NDVI Response to Different SPEI Timescales
3.2.1. April NDVI Response to Different SPEI Timescales
3.2.2. September NDVI Response to SPEI Timescales
3.3. Vegetation Types Response by Ecoregions
4. Discussion
4.1. Trend and Interannual Variations of Different SPEI Timescales
4.2. Ecoregion Response to Different SPEI Timescales
4.3. Vegetation Type Responses to SPEI Timescales
5. Conclusions
- There was a weak downward interannual trend of SPEI from 1950 to 2015, and the frequency and severity of dry periods are increasing in the 21st century.
- Vegetation productivity depends on seasonal water availability and drought conditions. The impact of water stress (SPEI) was greater on vegetation productivity during the winter than during the summer.
- The vegetation productivity response to SPEI timescales also depends on the vegetation types and was different between winter and summer. Grassland and shrubland productivity were more dependent on summer water availability whereas forest and sparse vegetation productivity was more dependent on winter water availability.
- We identified the dominant drought timescale that has the strongest influence on vegetation productivity on each ecoregion and vegetation types. This information can be useful for land managers to understand and mitigate drought impacts and help in enhancing our understanding of vegetation vulnerability to climate change.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
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SPEI Timescale | Ecoregions | Slope | r2 |
---|---|---|---|
1 month—SPEI | Mojave | −1.77 × 10−5 | 0.021 |
3 month—SPEI | Mojave | −2.6 × 10−5 | 0.044 |
6 month—SPEI | Mojave | −3.26 × 10−5 | 0.071 |
12 month—SPEI | Mojave | −3.97 × 10−5 | 0.102 |
1 month—SPEI | Sonoran | −3.18 × 10−5 | 0.063 |
3 month—SPEI | Sonoran | −4.69 × 10−5 | 0.140 |
6 month—SPEI | Sonoran | −5.98 × 10−5 | 0.200 |
12 month—SPEI | Sonoran | −7.29 × 10−5 | 0.300 |
1 month—SPEI | Apache | −1.46 × 10−5 | 0.013 |
3 month—SPEI | Apache | −1.74 × 10−5 | 0.018 |
6 month—SPEI | Apache | −2.1 × 10−5 | 0.025 |
12 month—SPEI | Apache | −2.67 × 10−5 | 0.041 |
1 month—SPEI | Chihuahuan | −7.62 × 10−6 | 0.005 |
3 month—SPEI | Chihuahuan | −9.5 × 10−6 | 0.007 |
6 month—SPEI | Chihuahuan | −1.02 × 10−5 | 0.008 |
12 month—SPEI | Chihuahuan | −1.02 × 10−5 | 0.007 |
Ecoregion | Historic Mean SPEI (1950–1999) | 21st Century Mean SPEI (2000–2015) |
---|---|---|
Mojave | 0.190 | −0.658 |
Sonoran | 0.303 | −1.038 |
Apache Highlands | 0.218 | −0.592 |
Chihuahuan | 0.184 | −0.493 |
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Khatri-Chhetri, P.; Hendryx, S.M.; Hartfield, K.A.; Crimmins, M.A.; Leeuwen, W.J.D.v.; Kane, V.R. Assessing Vegetation Response to Multi-Scalar Drought across the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Deserts and Apache Highlands in the Southwest United States. Remote Sens. 2021, 13, 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13061103
Khatri-Chhetri P, Hendryx SM, Hartfield KA, Crimmins MA, Leeuwen WJDv, Kane VR. Assessing Vegetation Response to Multi-Scalar Drought across the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Deserts and Apache Highlands in the Southwest United States. Remote Sensing. 2021; 13(6):1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13061103
Chicago/Turabian StyleKhatri-Chhetri, Pratima, Sean M. Hendryx, Kyle A. Hartfield, Michael A. Crimmins, Willem J. D. van Leeuwen, and Van R. Kane. 2021. "Assessing Vegetation Response to Multi-Scalar Drought across the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Deserts and Apache Highlands in the Southwest United States" Remote Sensing 13, no. 6: 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13061103