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Avoiding severe global warming requires large-scale removals of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Forest regeneration offers cost-effective carbon removals, but annual rates vary substantially by location and forest age. Here we generate grid-level (~1-km2) growth curves for aboveground live carbon in naturally regrowing forests by combining 109,708 field estimates with 66 environmental covariates. Acro
Quantifying the spatial and temporal patterns of drought characteristics is crucial, given the increasing frequency and intensity of drought events over the past 20 years in China. However, the patterns of drought frequency and duration in different regions and their differences remain unclear. Traditional indices for detecting and quantifying droughts, such as the Standardized Precipitation Evapo
El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, whether in warm or cold phases, that persist for two or more consecutive years (multi-year), are relatively rare. Compared with single-year events, they create cumulative impacts and are linked to extended periods of extreme weather worldwide. Here we combine central Pacific fossil coral oxygen isotope reconstructions with a multimodel ensemble of transi
Aim: This study investigated how human activities and local environmental variables shape tree assemblages (species composition in a defined location), comparing their effects on edible and inedible tree species. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) Environmental filtering impacts spatial beta-diversity more than dispersal limitation; (2) human activities significantly influence regional tree beta-di
In order to accurately assess the quality of low-resolution biogeophysical parameter products, accurate scale transformations are essential. However, different scaling models often lead to inconsistent transformation results. More worryingly, many biogeophysical parameters are not scale-invariant, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which makes the quality assessment of low-
Forest disturbances can cause shifts in boreal vegetation cover from predominantly evergreen to deciduous trees or non-forest dominance. This, in turn, impacts land surface properties and, potentially, regional climate. Accurately considering such shifts in future projections of vegetation dynamics under climate change is crucial but hindered (e.g., uncertainties in future disturbance regimes). In
Peatlands are vital ecosystems that regulate global carbon storage and hydrology, driven by waterlogged conditions that foster organic matter accumulation. However, disentangling the interactions between climate, hydrology, and tree growth in peatlands remains challenging. To investigate these relationships, we developed a 117-year ring width (RW) chronology (1902–2019) and complementary intra-ann
Vegetation demographic models (VDMs) are advanced tools for simulating forest responses to climate and land-use changes, and are essential for projecting carbon cycling and large-scale forest management strategies. Despite their increasing incorporation into Earth System Models, VDMs differ in their demographic assumptions, with no prior quantitative comparison of their performance. We benchmarked
Objective: To estimate the size of regression to the mean (RTM) for common patient-reported outcomes in trials for knee osteoarthritis (OA). Design: Longitudinal cohort study; we included participants of the Osteoarthritis Initiative who fulfilled typical inclusion criteria for enrolment in a trial. These included: age 40–79 years, symptomatic knee OA, Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2–3, use of pain medi
European forests are being shaped by active human use and management, and by harvesting of wood in particular. Yet, our understanding of how forests are harvested across Europe is limited, as the real harvest regimes are not well described by currently available data. Here, we analyse recent harvests, as observed in permanent plots of forest inventories in 11 European countries, totaling to 182,64
Rates of tree mortality are increasing globally, with implications for forests and climate. Yet, how and why these trends vary globally remain unknown. Developing a comprehensive assessment of global tree mortality will require systematically integrating data from ground-based long-term forest monitoring with large-scale remote sensing. We surveyed the metadata from 466 865 forest monitoring plots
Environmental changes and their effects are among the most pressing topics of today's ecological research. Shrublands, although widespread across the globe, remain understudied in this respect. We conducted a global meta-analysis of 81 shrubland sites subjected to experimental warming, shifts in precipitation (e.g. increased precipitation and drought), and nitrogen addition to quantify seven types
For exploring forest performance in the future, dynamic vegetation models are important tools. Tree mortality is a crucial process in these models, but explicit representations of major agents of mortality have often been relatively underdeveloped. In needle-leaved forest in the temperate and boreal zones, bark beetles are often important for the mortality pattern. The European spruce bark beetle
This study spatially analyzes plant phenology and its variations over time in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. To conduct the analysis, a nearly 40-year span time series (1983-2020) was generated by merging NDVI vegetation index values from satellite images sourced from NOAA-AVHRR and MODIS sensors. The phenological variables were calculated using TIMESAT 3.3, which extracted 13 phenometri
This study analyzes the relationship between drought processes and crop yields in Moldova, together with the effects of possible future climate change on crops. The severity of drought is analyzed over time in Moldova using the Standard Precipitation Index, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and their relationship with crop yields. In addition, rainfall variability and its re
"Global change"significantly alters organic matter and element cycling, but many of the underlying processes and consequences remain poorly understood. The interface of plants and soil plays a central role, coupling the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere and integrating biological and geochemical processes. The contributions to this special issue address questions on both biotic an
The spatial imprint of forest disturbances, which can result from a variety of anthropogenic and natural causes, is important in shaping the form and function of the world’s forests. However, we lack a systematic assessment of how the forms of forest disturbances differ globally, which could help in sustainable forest policy and management initiatives to protect forest biomes. Here we produce a gl
Increasing water stress is emerging as a global phenomenon, and is anticipated to have a marked impact on forest function. The role of tree functional strategies is pivotal in regulating forest fitness and their ability to cope with water stress. However, how the functional strategies found at the tree or species level scale up to characterise forest communities and their variation across regions
Tree growth and longevity trade-offs fundamentally shape the terrestrial carbon balance. Yet, we lack a unified understanding of how such trade-offs vary across the world's forests. By mapping life history traits for a wide range of species across the Americas, we reveal considerable variation in life expectancies from 10 centimeters in diameter (ranging from 1.3 to 3195 years) and show that the p
