Climatic drought impacts on key ecosystem services of a low mountain region in Germany

Al‑Qubati, Abdulhakeem, Zhang, Lulu and Pyarali, Karim, (2023). Climatic drought impacts on key ecosystem services of a low mountain region in Germany. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195(7), n/a-n/a

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Al‑Qubati, Abdulhakeem
    Zhang, Lulu
    Pyarali, Karim
    Title Climatic drought impacts on key ecosystem services of a low mountain region in Germany
    Appearing in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
    Volume 195
    Issue No. 7
    Publication Date 2023-06-02
    Place of Publication Switzerland
    Publisher Springer Nature Switzerland AG
    Start page n/a
    End page n/a
    Language eng
    Abstract The frequency of extreme weather events has increased in the latest years in Europe. The recent consecutive droughts caused severe damage in many sectors and underlined the demand for adaptation. There is a need for a better understanding of the response of ecosystems to climate change and the consequences for key ecosystem services, such as water supply and carbon sequestration, at a local and regional scale. This paper aims to support decision-making for climate adaptation in a low-mountainous region of central Germany. We analysed the temperature and precipitation trends and drought conditions. The response of two key services (surface water provision and carbon sequestration) to droughts is estimated using an ecosystem service model. The spatially averaged water yield, net ecosystem productivity (NEP), and soil moisture are assessed and compared for the five worst droughts with long-term averages to identify the vulnerable areas and ecosystems. The temperature increased on seasonal and annual scales, while precipitation decreased in some areas in summer and increased in winter and annually. The standardised precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI) showed worsening drought conditions, especially after the late 1980s. Droughts caused a reduction of water yield by 54%, NEP by 18%, and upper zone soil moisture by 13%. The impacts varied spatially, with the central region being worst affected, while the southern part was relatively more resilient. Adaptation is urgently needed to reduce drought risks and enhance climate resilience. Adaptive measures can include amending crop rotations, introducing more drought-tolerant varieties, upgrading agriculture and food industry technology, increasing mixed forests, and reducing non-native tree species.
    UNBIS Thesaurus CARBON SEQUESTRATION
    Keyword Climatic drought assessment
    Water yield
    Ecosystem service modelling
    Low mountain region
    Copyright Holder The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
    Copyright Year 2023
    Copyright type All rights reserved
    ISSN 0167-6369
    DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11397-1
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    Created: Mon, 17 Jul 2023, 04:09:45 JST by Věra Greschner Farkavcová on behalf of UNU FLORES