Forests go into growth ‘overdrive’ to recover from drought – new study

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One in 12 people could face severe drought every year by 2100, according to a recent study. And water stored on two-thirds of the Earth’s land surface will shrink as the climate warms. As plant ecologists, we’re concerned with what that means for forests – one of the largest carbon sinks and biggest assets the world has in the fight against climate change.

Droughts can stunt forest growth, kill trees and even change how forests function, or what species they’re made up of. We studied one species in particular to understand how trees have responded to past droughts, and how resilient they’re likely to be.

What we found suggests that some trees could rebound from difficult periods with more vitality than we might have imagined, which could be good news for forests facing a drier future.