Advanced time-lagged effects of drought on global vegetation growth and its social risk in the 21st century

Abstract

Extensive studies have demonstrated the restricting effect of past and present drought conditions on vegetation growth over the past three decades. However, the underlying mechanism of the impact of prior drought on vegetation growth – along with the magnitude of its impact over the rest of the 21st century – remains uncertain. Herein, we examined the evolution and characteristics of global vegetation growth and drought for both baseline (1982–2014) and future (2015–2100) periods under four representative pathways using the gross primary productivity (GPP) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index from the CMIP6. Further, we investigated the time-lagged effects of drought on vegetation growth and the intensity of population and economy exposure to drought by identifying drought-threatened areas under four emission scenarios. The results show that, at the end of the 21st century, the global terrestrial GPP will experience an increasing trend under four scenarios, especially in SSP5-8.5, with a growth rate of 0.032 kg C m−2/decade, which is 10 times higher than that in SSP1-2.6. From the SSP1-2.6 to the SSP5-8.5 scenario, the SPEI change rates are −0.03, −0.01, −0.017, and −0.018/decade, respectively, indicating that the intensity of global drought events will rise with increases in CO2 emissions. 28.3%, 24.7%, 30.4%, and 35% of global land exhibit downward mean time-lagged months in four scenarios, especially in the middle–high latitudes of the northern hemisphere (>45°N), indicating an advanced response of vegetation to drought. Nearly 8, 9.1, 12.9, and 11.5 billion people – valued at 94,138 (SSP1-2.6), 976,020 (SSP2-4.5), 526,595 (SSP3-7.0), and 204,728 (SSP5-8.5) billion US$, respectively – will be threatened by continuous drought. Globally, the population and economy exposure to moderate and extreme drought zones is larger, and the economic risk from extreme droughts is 8 times greater under the high emissions scenario than the low emissions scenario.