Short-Lived Solutions for Tall Trees in Chile’s Megadrought

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https://eos.org/research-spotlights/short-lived-solutions-for-tall-trees-in-chiles-megadrought

By Rebecca Dzombak, Eos/AGU. 

Excerpt: Some southern beeches in the Andes have plumbed deeper for moisture as the surface has dried up. But doing so may deplete resources and undermine the trees’ future health. For more than a decade, forests across much of Chile have been experiencing a megadrought, its effects overprinted on an already warming and drying climate. ...Sourcing deeper water might be only a temporary fix, however. As droughts become longer, more frequent, and more severe, those reserves may run dry. In addition, trees relying on deeper water may receive fewer nutrients, stymieing their development even if they are getting enough water. So although some trees have successfully adapted to drought in the short term, it’s unclear how long they’ll be able to continue. (Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007293, 2023).

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