Terrestrial ecosystems enhanced root zone water storage capacity in response to 
climate change over the past four decades

Xi, Qiaojuan; Gao, Hongkai; Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; Dong, Jianzhi; Fenicia, Fabrizio; Savenije, Hubert H.G.; Hrachowitz, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2025.06.027

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Terrestrial ecosystems enhanced root zone water storage capacity in response to climate change over the past four decades

Xi, Q., Gao, H., Wang-Erlandsson, L., Dong, J., Fenicia, F., Savenije, H. H., Hrachowitz, M. (2025): Terrestrial ecosystems enhanced root zone water storage capacity in response to climate change over the past four decades. - Science Bulletin, 70, 18, 3019-3028.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.06.027

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Item Permalink: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_32917 Version Permalink: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_32917_1

Genre: Journal Article

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Creators:
Xi, Qiaojuan¹, Author
Gao, Hongkai¹, Author
Wang-Erlandsson, Lan², Author
Dong, Jianzhi¹, Author
Fenicia, Fabrizio¹, Author
Savenije, Hubert H.G.¹, Author
Hrachowitz, Markus¹, Author

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1External Organizations, ou_persistent22
2Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, ou_persistent13

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Abstract: Adaptation of ecosystems’ root zones to climate change critically affects drought resilience and vegetation productivity. However, a global quantitative assessment of this mechanism is missing. In this study, we analyzed high-quality observation-based data to find that the global average root zone water storage capacity (SR) increased by 11%, from 182 to 202 mm in 1982–2020. The total increase of SR equals to 1652 billion m3 over the past four decades. SR increased in 9 out of 12 land cover types, while three relatively dry types experienced decreasing trends, potentially suggesting the crossing of ecosystems’ tipping points. Our results underscore the importance of accounting for root zone dynamics under climate change to assess drought impacts.

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Language(s): eng - English

Dates: Published Online: 2025-09-18Finally published : 2025-09-30

Publication Status: Finally published

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Rev. Type: Peer

Identifiers: DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.06.027
PIKDOMAIN: RD1 - Earth System Analysis
Organisational keyword: RD1 - Earth System Analysis
MDB-ID: No data to archive

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Title: Science Bulletin

Source Genre: Journal, SCI, Scopus, p3, formerly Chinese Science Bulletin

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Pages: - Volume / Issue: 70 (18) Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: 3019 - 3028 Identifier: CoNE: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/cone/journals/resource/journals75
Publisher: Elsevier