Global vegetation responses to wet and dry soil moisture extremes

Cheng, Xueyan; Zhan, Chunhui; De Kauwe, Martin G.; Hildebrandt, Anke; Orth, Rene

doi:10.5194/bg-23-5117-2026

Articles | Volume 23, issue 14

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5117-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5117-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 14

Research article

|

24 Jul 2026

Research article |

| 24 Jul 2026

Global vegetation responses to wet and dry soil moisture extremes

Xueyan Cheng, Chunhui Zhan, Martin G. De Kauwe, Anke Hildebrandt, and Rene Orth

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5117-2026-supplement

Data sets

Data associated with Global vegetation responses to wet and dry soil moisture extremes Xueyan Cheng et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18234861

MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V061 K. Didan https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13C1.061

MSWEP V2 global 3-hourly 0.1° precipitation: Methodology and quantitative assessment (https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/global-high-resolution-precipitation-mswep) H. Beck et al. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0138.1

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Short summary

Using long-term satellite greenness data and a machine-learning attribution approach, we assessed vegetation responses to wet and dry soil moisture extremes and identified their dominant drivers. Dry extremes caused widespread negative greenness anomalies mainly controlled by pre-extreme conditions and seasonal timing, while wet extremes showed more heterogeneous responses additionally shaped by climate and topography, highlighting contrasting ecosystem sensitivity to hydrological extremes.