articleGlobal Change BiologyFeb 1, 2025Closed access

Planted Forests in China Have Higher Drought Risk Than Natural Forests

Institute of Soil and Water Conservation · Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs · +11 more institutions

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Abstract

To improve the environment and mitigate climate change, China has implemented ambitious projects for natural forest protection and expanded planted forests. However, increased climate variability has led to more frequent and severe droughts, exacerbating the decline of these forests. The drought risk of planted forests is rarely assessed by considering both resistance and resilience, and comparative analyses between natural and planted forests are lacking. Here, we compared drought resistance and resilience in natural and planted forests across China using satellite observations from 2001 to 2020 to understand which forests were at higher risk of drought. The results showed that planted forests exhibited lower…

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