Forest Health and Drought

[Carl DuPoldt]

Drought and Southern Forests:
The Importance of Forest Health and Resiliency
HEATHER DINON, RACHEL BURNETT, ERIC TAYLLOR, RYAN BOYLES, WILLIAM HUBBARD,
MARK MEGALOS, SEAN BURNS, LESLIE BOBY
http://www.pinemap.org/publications/fact-sheets/Drought_Southern_Fo...
Drought has shaped southern forests in the past and will continue to influence health,
productivity, and resiliency of forests in the future. However, drought does not impact
all forests equally. Some forests resist drought effects and recover quickly. Other forests seem
to suffer severely. What causes this phenomenon? This factsheet will define drought and its
impacts to individual trees and forests as we explore the reason behind this question.
Short-term drought occurs for periods of weeks to months in length and mostly affects
vegetation. Short-term droughts are common during the growing season and can have a
noticeable influence on understory forest vegetation, such as wildflowers, shrubs, and
important wildlife browse plants.
Long-term drought occurs for periods of seasons to years in length and directly affects
the hydrological cycle. Long-term drought can lag behind short-term drought, and can
persist even after the weather event(s) causing the drought have ended and/or returned to
a wetter regime. With long-term droughts, streams may stop flowing, groundwater levels
may drop below the root zone, and reservoirs and lakes may significantly regress or dry up
altogether. Long-term droughts can cause agricultural crop failure, livestock losses, and in
the case of forestry, significant loss of growth potential and tree mortality.
----------------------------