Response of ecosystem productivity and stability to flash droughts across moisture gradients in China
4 affiliations
- 1School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, Henan, 454000, China; Observation and Research Station of Land Ecology and Land Use in the Grain-Producing Area of Central China, Ministry of Natural Resources, Jiaozuo, Henan, 454000, China
- 2School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, Henan, 454000, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Engineering Resilience, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Rd., Beijing, 100101, China; Corresponding author.
- 4School of ecology and environment, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, 750021, China
Abstract
Flash droughts, characterized by sudden onset and rapid intensification, pose a considerable threat to terrestrial ecosystems. However, the interactive impacts of flash drought characteristics on ecosystem productivity and the mechanisms governing ecosystem stability across China's diverse hydroclimatic regions remain unclear. Using the ERA5-Land and GOSIF datasets, we identified flash drought events during 1980–2020 from soil moisture data using a quantile approach and quantified ecosystem stability by integrating the magnitude and duration of productivity losses. Both flash drought frequency and affected area increased significantly over the past four decades, especially after 2000. Flash droughts reduced ecosystem productivity across 58% of the study area, and their characteristics magnified the losses in a combined amplifying pattern. Forests generally maintained high resilience across regions, whereas grasslands in the semi-arid and sub-humid regions of China exhibited the lowest resistance and resilience, and experienced the largest productivity declines. Productivity anomalies during drought periods reliably indicated ecosystem resistance, whereas recovery times better reflected resilience. These findings advance our understanding of ecosystem responses to flash droughts, and underscore the critical need for appropriate resistance−resilience assessment frameworks.
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BibTeX
@article{guo2026response,
title = {{Response of ecosystem productivity and stability to flash droughts across moisture gradients in China}},
author = {Linghui Guo and Yufei Yin and Kai Wang and Xianqin Huang and Jiangbo Gao and Yang Hu},
journal = {Ecological Informatics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.104105},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.104105},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Response of ecosystem productivity and stability to flash droughts across moisture gradients in China
AU - Linghui Guo
AU - Yufei Yin
AU - Kai Wang
AU - Xianqin Huang
AU - Jiangbo Gao
AU - Yang Hu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Ecological Informatics
DO - 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.104105
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.104105
AB - Flash droughts, characterized by sudden onset and rapid intensification, pose a considerable threat to terrestrial ecosystems. However, the interactive impacts of flash drought characteristics on ecosystem productivity and the mechanisms governing ecosystem stability across China's diverse hydroclimatic regions remain unclear. Using the ERA5-Land and GOSIF datasets, we identified flash drought events during 1980–2020 from soil moisture data using a quantile approach and quantified ecosystem stability by integrating the magnitude and duration of productivity losses. Both flash drought frequency and affected area increased significantly over the past four decades, especially after 2000. Flash droughts reduced ecosystem productivity across 58% of the study area, and their characteristics magnified the losses in a combined amplifying pattern. Forests generally maintained high resilience across regions, whereas grasslands in the semi-arid and sub-humid regions of China exhibited the lowest resistance and resilience, and experienced the largest productivity declines. Productivity anomalies during drought periods reliably indicated ecosystem resistance, whereas recovery times better reflected resilience. These findings advance our understanding of ecosystem responses to flash droughts, and underscore the critical need for appropriate resistance−resilience assessment frameworks.
SN - 1574-9541
SN - 1878-0512
ER -