Articles | Volume 23, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7871-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7871-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Spatiotemporal variations of carbon-water-hydraulic risk for Pinus tabuliformis Carrière Plantations on the Loess Plateau under future climate change
Tianqi Guo
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Zhongdian Zhang
School of Geographic Sciences, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang 464000, China
Henan Key Laboratory for Synergistic Prevention of Water and Soil Environmental Pollution, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang 464000, China
Rui Liu
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Xiaofei Wu
Shaanxi Academy of Forestry, Xi'an, 710082, China
Xinmei Liu
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Chenyi Ju
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Cited articles
Arend, M., Link, R. M., Patthey, R., Hoch, G., Schuldt, B., and Kahmen, A.: Rapid hydraulic collapse as cause of drought-induced mortality in conifers, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 118, e2025251118, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2025251118, 2021.
Arya, L. M., Leij, F. J., van Genuchten, M. T., and Shouse, P. J.: Scaling parameter to predict the soil water characteristic from particle-size distribution data, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 63, 510–519, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1999.03615995006300030013x, 1999.
Bonal, D., Burban, B., Stahl, C., Wagner, F., and Hérault, B.: The response of tropical rainforests to drought–lessons from recent research and future prospects, Ann. For. Sci., 73, 27–44, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-015-0522-5, 2016.
Brodribb, T. J., Powers, J., Cochard, H., and Choat, B.: Hanging by a thread? Forests and drought, Science, 368, 261–266, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat7631, 2020.
Chai, Y. F., Miao, C. Y., Slater, L., Ciais, P., Berghuijs, W. R., Chen, T. X., and Huntingford, C.: Underestimating global land greening: Future vegetation changes and their impacts on terrestrial water loss, One Earth, 8, 101176, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101176, 2025.
Chen, C., Bongers, F. J., Schmid, B., Ma, K., and Liu, X. J.: Ecosystem consequences of functional diversity in forests and implications for restoration, New Phytol., 247, 1081–1097, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70247, 2025.
Chen, H., Shao, M., and Li, Y.: Soil desiccation in the Loess Plateau of China, Geoderma, 143, 91–100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.10.013, 2008.
Chen, S. N., Wei, W., and Huang, Y.: Biophysical controls on canopy transpiration of Pinus tabulaeformis under different soil moisture conditions in the Loess Plateau of China, J. Hydrol., 631, 130799, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130799, 2024a.
Chen, Z., Wang, W., Forzieri, G., and Cescatti, A.: Transition from positive to negative indirect CO2 effects on the vegetation carbon uptake, Nat. Commun., 15, 1500, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45957-x, 2024b.
Choat, B., Brodribb, T. J., Brodersen, C. R., Duursma, R. A., Lopez, R., and Medlyn, B. E.: Triggers of tree mortality under drought, Nature, 558, 531–539, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0240-x, 2018.
da Silva, A. C., Armindo, R. A., dos Santos Brito, A., and Schaap, M. G.: SPLINTEX: A physically-based pedotransfer function for modeling soil hydraulic functions, Soil Till. Res., 174, 261–272, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.07.011, 2017.
Fan, X., Qu, Y., Zhang, J., and Bai, E.: China's vegetation restoration programs accelerated vegetation greening on the Loess Plateau, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 350, 109994, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.109994, 2024.
Farquhar, G. D., von Caemmerer, S., and Berry, J. A.: A biochemical model of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation in leaves of C3 species, Planta, 149, 78–90, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386231, 1980.
Feng, X., Fu, B., Piao, S. L., Wang, S., Ciais, P., Zeng, Z. Z., Lü, Y. H., Zeng, Y., Li, Y., Jiang, X. H., and Wu, B. F.: Revegetation in China's Loess Plateau is approaching sustainable water resource limits, Nat. Clim. Change, 6, 1019–1022, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3092, 2016.
Gong, E. J., Zhang, J., Bai, T. H., Wang, Z. H., Bai, H. Y., and Wang, J.: Spatiotemporal dynamics and influencing factors of precipitation and soil water use efficiency on the Chinese Loess Plateau, J. Hydrol., 644, 134600, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134600, 2026.
Granier, A.: Evaluation of transpiration in a Douglas-fir stand by means of sap flow measurements, Tree Physiol., 3, 309–320, https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/3.4.309, 1987.
Guo, T. Q.: model data, V1, ScienceDB [data set], https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.45502, 2026.
He, L., Wang, J., Peñuelas, J., Zohner, C. M., Crowther, T. W., Fu, Y. S., Zhang, W. X., Xiao, J. F., Liu, Z. F., Wang, X. F., Li, J. H., Li, X. J., Peng, S. Z., Xie, Y. W., Ye, J. S., Zhou, C. H., and Li, Z. L.: Asymmetric temperature effect on leaf senescence and its control on ecosystem productivity, PNAS Nexus, 3, 477, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae477, 2024.
Huang, M. B., Zettl, J. D., Barbour, S. L., Elshorbagy, A., and Si, B. C.: The impact of soil moisture availability on forest growth indices for variably layered coarse-textured soils, Ecohydrology, 6, 214–227, https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1260, 2013.
Jia, X. X., Shao, M. A., Zhu, Y. J., and Luo, Y.: Soil moisture decline due to afforestation across the Loess Plateau, China, J. Hydrol., 546, 113–122, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.01.011, 2017.
Jia, X. X., Shao, M. A., Yu, D., Zhang, Y., and Binley, A.: Spatial variations in soil-water carrying capacity of three typical revegetation species on the Loess Plateau, China, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 273, 25–35, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.12.008, 2019.
Jiao, W., Wang, L., Smith, W. K., Chang, Q., and D'Odorico, P.: Observed increasing water constraint on vegetation growth over the last three decades, Nat. Commun., 12, 3777, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24016-9, 2021.
Joshi, J., Stocker, B. D., Hofhansl, F., Zhou, S., Dieckmann, U., and Prentice, I. C.: Towards a unified theory of plant photosynthesis and hydraulics, Nat. Plants, 8, 1304–1316, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01244-5, 2022.
Li, C., Fu, B., Wang, S., Stringer, L. C., Wang, Y., Li, Z., Liu, Y., and Zhou, W.: Drivers and impacts of changes in China's drylands, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 2, 858–873, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-021-00226-z, 2021.
Li, Q., Yue, Y. M., Wang, L., and Wang, K. L.: Regional differences in carbon-water dynamics of various plantation forests in Southwest China, J. Hydrol., 661, 133809, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133809, 2025a.
Li, Z., Sun, F., Wang, H., and Wang, T.: Declining contribution of plant physiological effects to global drought characteristics with rising CO2 using state-of-the-art earth system models, Earths Future, 13, e2024EF005548, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF005548, 2025b.
Liu, K., Li, X., Li, X. K., Wang, S. D., and Zhou, G. S.: Past and future adverse response of terrestrial water storages to increased vegetation growth in drylands, npj Clim. Atmos. Sci., 6, 113, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00437-9, 2023.
Liu, J., Ma, X., Duan, Z., Jiang, J., Reichstein, M., and Jung, M.: Impact of temporal precipitation variability on ecosystem productivity, Water, 7, e1481, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1481, 2020.
Lu, C., Zhang, Q., Woolway, R. I., Ma, L., Liu, T. X., Wang, G., Sun, D. L., Singh, V. P., Bai, Y. G., Sun, B. S., and Huang, X.: Global warming will increase the risk of water shortage in northwest China, Earths Future, 13, e2025EF006199, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF006199, 2025.
Ma, Q., Su, Y., Niu, C., Hu, T. Y., Luo, X. Z., Tai, X. N., Qiu, T., Yao, Z., Bales, R. C., Liu, L. L., Kelly, M., and Guo, Q. H.: Tree mortality during long-term droughts is lower in structurally complex forest stands, Nat. Commun., 14, 7467, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43083-8, 2023.
McDowell, N. G., Pockman, W. T., Allen, C. D., Breshears, D. D., Cobb, N., Kolb, T., Plaut, J., Sperry, J., West, A., Williams, D. G., and Yepez, E. A.: Mechanisms of plant survival and mortality during drought: Why do some plants survive while others succumb to drought?, New Phytol., 178, 719–739, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02436.x, 2008.
McDowell, N. G., Sapes, G., Pivovaroff, A., Adams, H. D., Allen, C. D., Anderegg, W. R. L., Arend, M., Breshears, D. D., Brodribb, T., Choat, B., Cochard, H., Cáceres, M. D., Kauwe, M. G. D., Grossiord, C., Hammond, W. M., Hartmann, H., Hoch, G., Kahmen, A., Klein, T., Mackay, D. S., Mantova, M., Martínez-Vilalta, J., Medlyn, B. E., Mencuccini, M., Nardini, A., Oliveira, R. S., Anna, S., Tissue, D. T., Torres-Ruiz, J. M., Trowbridge, A. M., Trugman, A. T., Wiley, E., and Xu, C. G.: Mechanisms of woody-plant mortality under rising drought, CO2 and vapour pressure deficit, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 3, 294–308, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00272-1, 2022.
Melnikova, L., Ciais, P., Boucher, O., and Tanaka, K.: Assessing carbon cycle projections from complex and simple models under SSP scenarios, Climatic Change, 176, 168, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-023-03639-5, 2023.
Niu, L., Jia, X., Li, X., Zhao, C., Ren, L., Hu, W., Zhu, P., Li, D., Zhang, B., and Shao, M.: Developing novel ensemble models for predicting soil hydraulic properties in China's arid region, J. Hydrol., 636, 131354, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131354, 2024.
Ouyang, S., Wang, X., Wu, Y. L., and Sun, J. X.: Contrasting responses of net primary productivity to inter-annual variability and changes of climate among three forest types in northern China, J. Plant Ecol., 7, 309–320, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtt066, 2014.
Piao, S. L., Wang, X. H., Park, T., Chen, C., Lian, X., He, Y., Jarle, W. B., Chen, A. P., Ciais, P., Tømmervik, H., Ramakrishna, R. N., and Ranga, B. M.: Characteristics, drivers and feedbacks of global greening, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 1, 14–27, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-019-0001-x, 2020.
Qi, G., Song, J., Chen, S., Gong, Y., Bai, H., She, D., and Fu, Y. H.: Increasing impacts of compound extreme droughts on vegetation productivity in China, J. Hydrol., 660B, 133447, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133447, 2025.
Song, L. N., Zhu, J. J., Zheng, X., Li, X. J. Y., Wang, K., Zhang, J. X., Wang, G. C., and Sun, H. H.: Water use dynamics of trees in a Pinus tabuliformis plantation in semiarid sandy regions, Northeast China, Agr. Water Manage., 275, 107995, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107995, 2023.
Sperry, J. S. and Love, D. M.: What plant hydraulics can tell us about responses to climate-change droughts, New Phytol., 207, 14–27, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13354, 2015.
Sperry, J. S., Donnelly, J. R., and Tyree, M. T.: A method for measuring hydraulic conductivity and embolism in xylem, Plant Cell Environ., 11, 35–40, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.1988.tb01774.x, 1988.
Sperry, J. S., Wang, Y., Wolfe, B. T., Mackay, D. S., Anderegg, W. R. L., McDowell, N. G., and Pockman, W. T.: Pragmatic hydraulic theory predicts stomatal responses to climatic water deficits, New Phytol., 212, 577–589, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14059, 2016.
Sperry, J. S., Venturas, M. D., Todd, H. N., Trugman, A. T., Anderegg, W. R. L., Wang, Y., and Tai, X.: The impact of rising CO2 and acclimation on the response of US forests to global warming, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 25734–25744, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1913072116, 2019.
Tai, X., Mackay, D. S., Sperry, J. S., Brooks, P., Anderegg, W. R. L., Flanagan, L. B., Rood, S. B., and Hopkinson, C.: Distributed plant hydraulic and hydrological modeling to understand the susceptibility of riparian woodland trees to drought-induced mortality, Water Resour. Res., 54, 4901–4915, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR022801, 2018.
Tang, Q. and Chen, D.: Global change exacerbates water cycle imbalances and intensifies water resource crises, Sci. China Earth Sci., 68, 3077–3080, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-025-1661-5, 2025.
Tang, Z., Miralles, D. G., Guo, Z., and Maes, W. H.: Fast response of satellite fluorescence-derived plant physiology to drought stress, Nat. Commun., 17, 2886, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70076-0, 2026.
Thornton, P. E., Law, B. E., Gholz, H. L., Clark, K. L., Falge, E., Ellsworth, D. S., Goldstein, A. H., Monson, R. K., Hollinger, D., Falk, M., Chen, J., and Sparks, J. P.: Modeling and measuring the effects of disturbance history and climate on carbon and water budgets in evergreen needleleaf forests, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 113, 185–222, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1923(02)00108-9, 2002.
Thrasher, B., Wang, W., Michaelis, A., Melton, F., Lee, T., and Nemani, R.: NASA Global Daily Downscaled Projections, CMIP6, Sci. Data, 9, 262, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01393-4, 2022a.
Thrasher, B., Wang, W., Michaelis, A., Melton, F., Lee, T., and Nemani, R.: NASA Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP-CMIP6), NASA ADS [data set], https://doi.org/10.7917/OFSG3345, 2022b.
Torres-Ruiz, J. M., Cochard, H., Delzon, S., Boivin, T., Burlett, R., Cailleret, M., Corso, D., Delmas, C. E. L., De Caceres, M., Diaz-Espejo, A., Fernández-Conradi, P., Guillemot, J., Lamarque, L. J., Limousin, J., Mantova, M., Mencuccini, M., Morin, X., Pimont, F., Dios, V. R. D., Ruffault, J., Trueba, S., and Martin-StPaul, N. K.: Plant hydraulics at the heart of plant, crops and ecosystem functions in the face of climate change, New Phytol., 241, 984–999, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19463, 2024.
van Genuchten, M. T.: A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44, 892–898, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x, 1980.
Walker, A. P., De Kauwe, M. G., Bastos, A., Belmecheri, S., Georgiou, K., Keeling, R. F., McMahon, S. M., Medlyn, B. E., Moore, D. J. P., Norby, R. J., Zaehle, S., Anderson-Teixeira, K. J., Battipaglia, G., Brienen, R. J. W., Cabugao, K. G., Cailleret, M., Campbell, E., Canadell, J. G., Ciais, P., Craig, M. E., Ellsworth, D. S., Farquhar, G. D., Fatichi, S., Fisher, J. B., Frank, D. C., Graven, H., Gu, L., Haverd, V., Heilman, K., Heimann, M., Hungate, B. A., Iversen, C. M., Joos, F., Jiang, M., Keenan, T. F., Knauer, J., Körner, C., Leshyk, V. O., Leuzinger, S., Liu, Y., MacBean, N., Malhi, Y., McVicar, T. R., Penuelas, J., Pongratz, J., Powell, A. S., Riutta, T., Sabot, M. E. B., Schleucher, J., Sitch, S., Smith, W. K., Sulman, B., Taylor, B., Terrer, C., Torn, M. S., Treseder, K. K., Trugman, A. T., Trumbore, S. E., van Mantgem, P. J., Voelker, S. L., Whelan, M. E., and Zuidema, P. A.: Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO2, New Phytol., 229, 2413–2445, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16866, 2021.
Wang, F., Zhang, J. Z., Fonti, P., Sun, Q. P., Wang, Y. T., Zhang, F., Wang, Y. F., Yang, J. Q., and Gou, X. H.: Effects of site aridity and species on stand transpiration in high-elevation dryland ecosystems, J. Hydrol., 630, 130662, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130662, 2024.
Wang, L. N.: Loess Plateau Chinese pine plantation drought risk assessment, Doctoral dissertation, Beijing Forestry University, https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=_oeCfPpuuXFSO8 kIStNiEeL0UCfMJBwKWbdhHor9zOLwrRBxTbpnUildnc6qV
Rp8EuH0O8TR6b0WoUm4JLAfALEtsL6hQYqjOC0BjSHYbd
3BbcPXGbVgisaZau1z0p8qQAOgdcakyM7yVGnazvEL37Oem 9kFcNRNrFmAsiW_1ueT4UJAhNg_Nub6RmsM9Gyx (last access: 29 October 2026), 2016.
Wang, M. J., Peng, S. S., Lu, Z. H., Xu, X. T., Felton, A., and Chen, A. P.: Increasing constraint of aridity on tree intrinsic water use efficiency, Nat. Commun., 16, 7560, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62845-0, 2025.
Wang, Z., Liu, B., Liu, G., and Zhang, Y. X.: Soil water depletion depth by planted vegetation on the Loess Plateau, Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci., 52, 835–842, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-009-0087-y, 2009.
Wolfe, B. T., Sperry, J. S., and Kursar, T. A.: Does leaf shedding protect stems from cavitation during seasonal droughts? A test of the hydraulic fuse hypothesis, New Phytol., 212, 1007–1018, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14087, 2016.
Wu, X. F., Yan, X. Y., Zhang, Z. D., Huang, M. B., Liu, X. M., and Guo, T. Q.: Differences in actual evapotranspiration and responses of pure and mixed forests to climate change on the Chinese Loess Plateau, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 385, 111210, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111210, 2026.
Xu, F., Qu, Y., Bento, V. A., Song, H. Q., Qiu, J. X., Qi, J. Y., Wan, L. L., Zhang, R. R., Miao, L. J., Zhang, X. S., and Wang, Q. F.: Understanding climate change impacts on drought in China over the 21st century: a multi-model assessment from CMIP6, npj Clim. Atmos. Sci., 7, 32, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00578-5, 2024.
Yan, X. Y., Zhang, Z. D., Huang, M. B., Zhao, X. F., Yang, F., and Wu, X. F.: The impact of climate change on growth and drought-induced mortality risk of Robinia pseudoacacia plantations along a precipitation gradient on the Chinese Loess Plateau, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 325, 109160, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109160, 2022.
Yang, K. Q., Ma, Z. H., Wang, K., Li, G. L., Zhang, X. Y., Zhen, Q., and Zheng, J. Y.: Combining infiltration hole and mulching techniques with fish-scale pits effectively improved soil water storage in semiarid areas with shallow buried bedrock (Pisha Sandstone) in China, Catena, 230, 107249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2023.107249, 2023.
Zhang, Z. D., Huang, M. B., Yang, Y. N., and Zhao, X. F.: Evaluating drought-induced mortality risk for Robinia pseudoacacia plantations along the precipitation gradient on the Chinese Loess Plateau, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 284, 107897, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107897, 2020.
Zhang, Z. D., Jia, X. X., Zhu, P., Huang, M. B., Ren, L. D., and Shao, M. A.: Estimating the optimal vegetation coverage for the dominant tree and shrub species over China's northwest drylands, Sci. China Earth Sci., 67, 1500–1517, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1287-x, 2024a.
Zhang, Z. D., Liu, T. H., Huang, M. B., Yan, X. Y., Liu, M. H., Yan, J. H., Chen, F. Y., Yan, W., and Niu, J. Q.: Spatial pattern of drought-induced mortality risk and influencing factors for Robinia pseudoacacia L. plantations on the Chinese Loess Plateau, Forests, 15, 1477, https://doi.org/10.3390/f15081477, 2024b.
Zhou, G. Y., Yi, G. C., and Tang, X. L.: Forest Ecosystem Carbon Stocks in China – Biomass Equations, Science Press, Beijing, 44 pp., ISBN 9787508853925, 2018.
Zhou, S., Williams, A. P., Berg, A. M., Cook, B. I., Zhang, Y., Hagemann, S., Lorenz, R., Seneviratne, S. I., and Gentine, P.: Land–atmosphere feedbacks exacerbate concurrent soil drought and atmospheric aridity, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 18848–18853, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1904955116, 2019.
Zhu, Y. J., Jia, X. X., and Shao, M. A.: Loess thickness variations across the Loess Plateau of China, Surv. Geophys., 39, 715–727, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-018-9462-6, 2018.
Short summary
The persistence of Chinese pine plantations in restoration areas under future climate remains uncertain. We used a calibrated, improved biogeochemical model to simulate carbon, water, and hydraulic risk dynamics from 2000 to 2099. Our results show declining productivity alongside rising water consumption and hydraulic risk, driving an overall 23 %–44 % drop in ecological sustainability. Incorporating hydraulic risk helps reduce overly optimistic predictions of plantation survival.
The persistence of Chinese pine plantations in restoration areas under future climate remains...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint