Articles | Volume 11, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6939-2014
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6939-2014
Research article
 | 
11 Dec 2014
Research article |  | 11 Dec 2014

Continental-scale impacts of intra-seasonal rainfall variability on simulated ecosystem responses in Africa

K. Guan, S. P. Good, K. K. Caylor, H. Sato, E. F. Wood, and H. Li

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Cited articles

Allan, R. and Soden, B.: Atmospheric warming and the amplification of precipitation extremes, Science, 1481–1485, 2008.
Anderegg, L. D. L., Anderegg, W. R. L., and Berry, J. A.: Not all droughts are created equal: translating meteorological drought into woody plant mortality, Tree Physiol., 33, 701–712, 2013.
Bates, J., Svejcar, T., Miller, R., and Angell, R.: The effects of precipitation timing on sagebrush steppe vegetation, J. Arid Environ., 64, 670–697, 2006.
Biasutti, M. and Sobel, A. H.: Delayed Sahel rainfall and global seasonal cycle in a warmer climate, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L23707, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL041303, 2009.
Bond, W. J., Woodward, F. I., and Midgley, G. F.: The Global Distribution of Ecosystems in a World without Fire, New Phytol., 165, 525–537, 2005.
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Short summary
Climate change is expected to modify the way that rainfall arrives, namely the frequency and intensity of rainfall events and rainy season length. Yet, the quantification of the impact of these possible rainfall changes across large biomes is lacking. Our study fills this gap by developing a new modeling framework, applying it to continental Africa. We show that African ecosystems are highly sensitive to these rainfall variabilities, with esp. large sensitivity to changes in rainy season length.
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