This study investigates the impact of spring phenology on the drought recovery of Northern Hemisphere ecosystems. Using remotely sensed data, the researchers found that over half of the ecosystems in mid- and high-latitudinal regions failed to recover from extreme droughts within a single growing season. Earlier spring phenology in the drought year slowed recovery, especially when droughts hit mid-growing season. Delayed spring phenology in the following year also hindered recovery across all vegetation types. The influence of phenology was comparable to or exceeded that of other known post-drought climatic factors, highlighting the need to incorporate phenology-drought interactions into Earth system models for accurate ecosystem resilience assessment.

Yang Li, Wen Zhang, Christopher R. Schwalm, Pierre Gentine, William K. Smith, Philippe Ciais, John S. Kimball, Antonio Gazol, Steven A. Kannenberg, Anping Chen, Shilong Piao, Hongyan Liu, Deliang Chen, Xiuchen Wu