Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1016/j.jag.2026.105229
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Contrasting trends in climatic and ecohydrological aridity over one-fifth of global drylands
Author He, L.; Berg, A.; Yu, K.; Ye, J.-S.; Peñuelas, J.; Ciais, P.; Xiao, J.; Lian, X.; Huang, J.; Li, J.; Li, W.; Peng, J. ORCID logo ; Wang, S.; Ma, N.; Guo, Z.; Crowther, T.W.; Cui, J.; Zhou, C.; Xie, Y.; Li, Z.-L.
Source Titel International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
Year 2026
Department RS
Volume 148
Page From art. 105229
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14264828
Keywords Dryland; Ecohydrological aridity; Climatic aridity; eCO2-induced effects
Abstract Climatic aridity interplays with ecohydrological aridity, generally showing synchronous increasing trends under global warming. However, these changes can be decoupled and even exhibit contrasting temporal variations. The spatial patterns and underlying mechanisms of such contrasting aridity changes remain poorly understood. Utilizing satellite and climate data, we demonstrate that nearly one-fifth (22.3%) of global vegetated drylands showed contrasting trends in climatic and ecohydrological aridity over the past four decades. Approximately 60% of these areas experienced an increase in climatic aridity but a decrease in ecohydrological aridity, while others exhibited opposite temporal trends. These divergences stem primarily from elevated atmospheric CO2 levels, which exert opposite effects on ecohydrological aridity via vegetation structure and canopy stomatal conductance. These findings highlight the nonlinear nature of vegetation-climate interactions in drylands and provide new insight into water and carbon cycling in global drylands under climate change.
He, L., Berg, A., Yu, K., Ye, J.-S., Peñuelas, J., Ciais, P., Xiao, J., Lian, X., Huang, J., Li, J., Li, W., Peng, J., Wang, S., Ma, N., Guo, Z., Crowther, T.W., Cui, J., Zhou, C., Xie, Y., Li, Z.-L. (2026):
Contrasting trends in climatic and ecohydrological aridity over one-fifth of global drylands
Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf. 148 , art. 105229 10.1016/j.jag.2026.105229