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Global climate change is projected to produce warmer, longer, and more frequent droughts, referred to here as “global change-type droughts�, which have the potential to trigger widespread tree die-off. However, drought-induced tree mortality cannot be predicted with confidence, because long-term field observations of plant water stress prior to, and culminating in, mortality are rare, precluding the development and testing of mechanisms. Here, we document plant water stress in two widely distributed, co-occurring species, piñon pine (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniperus monosperma), over more than a decade, leading up to regional-scale die-off of piñon pine trees in response to global change-related drought....
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Mortality of tree species around the globe is increasingly driven by hotter drought and heat waves. Tree juveniles are at risk, as well as adults, and this will have a negative effect on forest dynamics and structure under climate change. Novel management options are urgently needed to reduce this mortality and positively affect forest dynamics and structure. Potential drought-ameliorating soil amendments such as nanochitosan – a biopolymer upcycled from byproducts of the seafood industry – may provide an additional set of useful tools for reducing juvenile mortality during hotter droughts. Nanochitosan promotes water and nutrient absorption in plants but has not been tested in the context of drought and heat stress....
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