Academic Journal
Climate-driven acceleration in forest evapotranspiration fuelling extreme rainfall events in the Himalaya
| Title: | Climate-driven acceleration in forest evapotranspiration fuelling extreme rainfall events in the Himalaya |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Nilendu Singh, Jayendra Singh, Anil K Gupta, Achim Bräuning, A P Dimri, A L Ramanathan, Vikram Sharma, Reet Kamal Tiwari, Joyeeta Singh Chakraborty, Pankaj Chauhan, Tanuj Shukla, Mohit Singhal, Suman Rawat, Shefali Agarwal, P Raja |
| Source: | Environmental Research Letters, Vol 16, Iss 8, p 084042 (2021) |
| Publisher Information: | IOP Publishing, 2021. |
| Publication Year: | 2021 |
| Collection: | LCC:Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering LCC:Environmental sciences LCC:Science LCC:Physics |
| Subject Terms: | extreme rainfall event, forest evapotranspiration, greening-thermophilization, tree-ring cellulose isotopes, ecophysiology, Himalaya, Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering, TD1-1066, Environmental sciences, GE1-350, Science, Physics, QC1-999 |
| More Details: | Warming-induced expansion in vegetation coverage and activity can accelerate the montane hydrological regimes. However, the climate impacts on ecohydrology of forested valleys of the Himalaya are uncertain. In this study, utilizing results of about three centuries of cellulose isotope chronologies ( δ ^13 C and δ ^18 O) of dominant tree species, geo-chronological proxies, bio-geophysical dataset and simulations including satellite observations, we show an activation in the ecophysiological processes including evapotranspiration (ET) since the 1950s. Observation suggests rapid greening, while isotopic records indicate enhanced assimilation and transpiration in deciduous species vis-à-vis conifers post 1950s. Given strong vegetation-precipitation feedback and superimposed on the increasing trends of conducive atmospheric factors affecting valley-scale convective processes, intensification in forest ET is manifesting in a progressive enhancement in extreme rainfall events (EREs) since the last few decades. Results suggest that representation of ecophysiological processes and dynamics of seasonal moisture loading in observational and modelling framework is critical for understanding EREs under climate change. |
| Document Type: | article |
| File Description: | electronic resource |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 1748-9326 |
| Relation: | https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 |
| DOI: | 10.1088/1748-9326/ac14ed |
| Access URL: | https://doaj.org/article/22615d45899c4513ad70d953669ce161 |
| Accession Number: | edsdoj.22615d45899c4513ad70d953669ce161 |
| Database: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| ISSN: | 17489326 |
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| DOI: | 10.1088/1748-9326/ac14ed |
| Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Language: | English |