Extended Data Fig. 6: Drought effects on water and energy balances.
From: Forest vulnerability to drought controlled by bedrock composition
a, Variations in evapotranspiration through time at three main study sites with Palmer Drought Severity Index57 (top) and gray band highlighting 2011-2017 California drought. Dashed lines span the 2014 and 2016 interval in which forests experienced the greatest declines in evapotranspiration. Although the drought began in late 2011, forests at our sites did not experience a marked decline in evapotranspiration until 2015. b, Site-to-site differences in evapotranspiration and similarities in climate drive differences in evaporative index (evapotranspiration divided by precipitation) for a given aridity index (potential evapotranspiration divided by precipitation). Points are water-year averages. Bold lines mark Budyko’s energy and water limitations on evapotranspiration when runoff is negligible53. Points above and just beneath the water limit indicate plants used water stored during prior wet years.
