Recent atmospheric drying in Siberia is not unprecedented over the last 1,500 years

Newly developed millennial δ(13)C larch tree-ring chronology from Siberia allows reconstruction of summer (July) vapor pressure deficit (VPD) changes in a temperature-limited environment. VPD increased recently, but does not yet exceed the maximum values reconstructed during the Medieval Warm Anomal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific Reports
Main Authors: Churakova Sidorova, O. V., Corona, C., Fonti, M. V., Guillet, S., Saurer, M., Siegwolf, R. T. W., Stoffel, M., Vaganov, E. A.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group UK 2020
Subjects:
Article
Ice
permafrost
Siberia
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7490406/
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71656-w
Description
Summary:Newly developed millennial δ(13)C larch tree-ring chronology from Siberia allows reconstruction of summer (July) vapor pressure deficit (VPD) changes in a temperature-limited environment. VPD increased recently, but does not yet exceed the maximum values reconstructed during the Medieval Warm Anomaly. The most humid conditions in the Siberian North were recorded in the Early Medieval Period and during the Little Ice Age. Increasing VPD under elevated air temperature affects the hydrology of these sensitive ecosystems by greater evapotranspiration rates. Further VPD increases will significantly affect Siberian forests most likely leading to drought and forest mortality even under additional access of thawed permafrost water. Adaptation strategies are needed for Siberian forest ecosystems to protect them in a warming world.

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