Shifts of forest resilience after seismic disturbances in tectonically active regions
Gao, Shan (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Liang, Eryuan (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Liu, Ruishun (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Lu, Xiaoming (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Rossi, Sergio (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Département des Sciences Fondamentales)
Zhu, Haifeng (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Piao, Shilong (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Peñuelas, Josep (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Camarero, Jesús Julio (Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología)

Data:	2024
Resum:	Forests in tectonically active regions are disturbed by earthquakes. Besides direct injuries to trees, earthquakes also induce stand-wide changes in hydrological conditions, whose effects on long-term forest growth and resilience remain unknown. Here we establish spatio-temporal links between global tree-ring width series and earthquakes after 1900, disentangle seismic signals from climate-induced variations in ring width series, test growth changes using superposed epoch analysis and quantify post-earthquake resilience shifts along environmental gradients in seven regions around the world. We found sites with enhanced resilience locate in relatively dry areas of temperate regions, where the response of tree growth to growing-season precipitation also increased after earthquakes. Our results provide evidence that earthquake-induced soil cracks and fractures increased precipitation infiltration to deeper soil layers and enhanced the use of water and nutrients by trees. In contrast, reduced post-earthquake resilience in regions with abundant precipitation can be explained by increased soil erosion and nutrient leaching. We conclude that seismic disturbances cause decadal-scale shifts in forest resilience under specific environmental conditions, disentangling complex interactions between lithosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. These findings can contribute to a better understanding of how the Earth system functions.
Drets:	Tots els drets reservats.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Matèria:	Forest ecology ; Seismology
Publicat a:	Nature geoscience, Vol. 17, issue 3 (March 2024) , p. 189-196, ISSN 1752-0894

DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01380-x

Disponible a partir de: 2024-09-30 Postprint

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