Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/ae7989 |
Licence  |
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| Title (Primary) | Global in-situ measurements reveal ecosystem and hydroclimatic differences in escalating soil heat extremes |
| Author | Lundt, B.; Peng, J.
; Garcia-Garcia, A.
|
| Source Titel | Environmental Research Letters |
| Year | 2026 |
| Department | RS |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Keywords | soil heat extremes; soil temperature; climate extremes; land-atmosphere interactions |
| Abstract | Temperature extremes are increasing under ongoing climate
change. While traditional research has focused on atmospheric variables
to quantify such extremes, more recent findings have shifted attention
to soil variables. Soil temperature extremes shape land-atmosphere
feedbacks, ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling, yet their long-term
evolution and drivers are poorly understood compared to their
atmospheric counterparts.Here, we combine in-situ soil and near surface
air temperature records from global FLUXNET, AmeriFlux and ICOS sites
with information on land cover, climate zone, aridity and soil texture
to understand trends in the intensity, frequency and duration of hot
extremes in the upper soil layer. We find that soil heat extremes
increase faster than air heat extremes across a majority of sites, with
spatially averaged trends showing that the annual maximum 7-day mean
temperature (TX7D) increases by 0.78 °C decade -1 in soils compared to
0.56 °C decade -1 in air, while the frequency of hot days above the 90th
percentile (TX90p) rises by 9.33 % decade -1 in soils versus 1.27 %
decade -1 in air.Particularly strong amplification is present in
temperate continental climates and dry sub-humid regimes, consistent
with reduced evaporative cooling under recurrent soil drying.
Coarse-textured soils and croplands show the largest differences between
air and soil extremes, while forests dampen peak soil heat intensity
but still exhibit rising extreme frequency and duration. Despite short
and heterogeneous observational records, our results provide an
empirical basis for future investigations and for evaluating model-and
reanalysis-based soil heat extreme estimates. The emerging divergence
between soil and atmospheric heat extremes has important implications
for land-atmosphere coupling, soil carbon losses, agricultural risk and
therefore food security, highlighting the need to integrate soil heat
extremes into climate impact and adaptation assessments. |
| Lundt, B., Peng, J., Garcia-Garcia, A. (2026): Global in-situ measurements reveal ecosystem and hydroclimatic differences in escalating soil heat extremes Environ. Res. Lett. 10.1088/1748-9326/ae7989 |
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