Weekly Talk by Anping Chen, Colorado State: Ecosystem Responses to Drought - Are There Unified Patterns?

Available in person and via zoom (see email for link)

Abstract

Abstract: As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of droughts, understanding how terrestrial ecosystems respond is critical for forecasting global carbon cycle stability and managing natural resources. This seminar aims to stimulate discussion on whether there is a unified, predictable pattern in ecosystem drought response. The talk is structured into three parts. I will first present evidence of widespread prevalence of drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, highlighting that drought-related climate extremes dominate abnormal vegetation growth globally while tree water use efficiency has been increasingly sensitive to aridity changes. I will then show some unexpected behaviors of ecosystem drought responses, which underscore the importance of seasonality in shaping these responses. Finally, I will discuss the importance of scale in drought impact assessment through examples of how drought-caused tree mortality translates into greenness reduction across spatiotemporal scale and how ecosystems recover their functions from such events.

Bio

Bio: Dr. Anping Chen is a plant and ecosystem ecologist specializing in cross-scale understanding of carbon and water exchanges between land ecosystems and the atmosphere. He is particularly interested in how these processes function under extreme climates and disturbances. Dr. Chen earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental sciences from Peking University, before obtaining a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University. He is currently a research scientist and faculty member in the Biology Department and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Colorado State University, directing the Climate-Hydrology-Ecosystem Nexus research group. Dr. Chen is a Highly Cited Researcher and has published over 150 papers. He serves on editorial boards for ecology and climate science journals like Journal of Ecology, Global Change Biology, and npj Climate and Atmospheric Sciences.