Extended Data Fig. 3: The global sensitivity of critical soil moisture thresholds to climate change depends on soil texture – I.
From: Global influence of soil texture on ecosystem water limitation
Predicted changes of global critical soil moisture thresholds (Δθcrit) in response to changes in VPD from current (2005-2014) to future (2060-2069) climate (SSP2-4.5 scenario). The colors are mapped along two axes representing the absolute changes in θcrit (y-axis) and relative changes in potential transpiration rate (ΔTpot, x-axis), respectively. Pixels are coloured across the globe according to their expected implications for gross primary productivity (GPP) and vulnerability to drought. Opaque and pale colours differentiate between non-humid (aridity index (AI) < 1) and humid (AI > 1) moisture regimes, respectively. Warm colours (red-orange-yellow) indicate an increase (+Δθcrit), and cold colours (blue-green) indicate a decrease (−Δθcrit) in critical soil moisture thresholds. The four rectangles highlight regions where we expect highest amplification of ecosystem vulnerability to drought given increasing VPD (cf. Fig. 4 in the Article). These regions will experience an increase in atmospheric drying but show limited buffer capacity (small Δθcrit) due to the coarseness of their soil texture. Hyperarid deserts (dark grey, aridity index (AI) ≤ 0.05) were excluded. In humid regions (pale colours) where ecosystems are unlikely to be water limited, the impact of Δθcrit is likely to be negligible or rare.
