Widespread and Divergent Post-drought Loss of Gross Primary Productivity

The impacts of droughts on the terrestrial ecosystem gross primary production (GPP) are evident with contemporaneous and lagged effects. However, the magnitude of post-drought vegetation GPP loss remains unclear. This study quantitatively assessed the global post-drought GPP loss on the 8-day scale during 2000-2022. Globally, the mean post-drought GPP loss was ~0.74 Pg C yr⁻¹, accounting for ~ 21.45% of the total drought-induced GPP loss. The higher proportions of post-drought GPP loss were evident in humid regions, whereas the higher absolute post-drought GPP loss mainly occurred in regions with higher vegetation cover. Furthermore, the global mean incidence and duration of post-drought GPP loss were 51.23 ± 21.21% and 33.36 ± 13.27 days, respectively. The occurrence and persistence of post-drought GPP loss exhibited a consistent correlation with aridity, but an inverse relationship with vegetation composition. Our findings would contribute to a better understanding of the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to drought.