Vegetation sensitivity to drought depends on bedrock type in a subtropical karst landscape in Southwest China

doi:10.1016/j.pld.2026.02.001

Plant Diversity ›› 2026, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (03): 586-597.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2026.02.001

Vegetation sensitivity to drought depends on bedrock type in a subtropical karst landscape in Southwest China

Xiaona Li^a,b, Dingwu Zhang^a, Yinxixue Pan^b, Xiaogang You^c, Weijun Luo^d, Hongyan Liu^e, Zihan Jiang^a

a Diversity and Specialty Crops & Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China;
b Southwest Research Center for Eco-civilization, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Kunming, China;
c PIESAT Information Technology Co., Ltd, Beijing, China;
d State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, China;
e Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Peking University, Beijing, China

收稿日期:2025-06-20 修回日期:2026-01-29 出版日期:2026-05-25 发布日期:2026-06-10
通讯作者: Zihan Jiang,E-mail:jiangzihan@mail.kib.ac.cn
基金资助:
This research was funded by The Chinese Academy of Sciences Hundred Talents Program, Category B, National Postdoctoral Programs, Yunnan Provincial General Project Fund (202401CF070060), Science and Technology Projects of Xizang Autonomous Region, China (XZ202402ZD0005), Key R&D Program of Yunnan Province (202403AC100028), and National Natural Science Foundation Regional Project (32360395, W2412149).

Vegetation sensitivity to drought depends on bedrock type in a subtropical karst landscape in Southwest China

Xiaona Li^a,b, Dingwu Zhang^a, Yinxixue Pan^b, Xiaogang You^c, Weijun Luo^d, Hongyan Liu^e, Zihan Jiang^a

a Diversity and Specialty Crops & Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China;
b Southwest Research Center for Eco-civilization, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Kunming, China;
c PIESAT Information Technology Co., Ltd, Beijing, China;
d State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, China;
e Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Peking University, Beijing, China

Received:2025-06-20 Revised:2026-01-29 Online:2026-05-25 Published:2026-06-10
Contact: Zihan Jiang,E-mail:jiangzihan@mail.kib.ac.cn
Supported by:
This research was funded by The Chinese Academy of Sciences Hundred Talents Program, Category B, National Postdoctoral Programs, Yunnan Provincial General Project Fund (202401CF070060), Science and Technology Projects of Xizang Autonomous Region, China (XZ202402ZD0005), Key R&D Program of Yunnan Province (202403AC100028), and National Natural Science Foundation Regional Project (32360395, W2412149).

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Droughts pose a significant global threat to ecosystem stability and plant diversity. The sensitivity of vegetation to drought is highly variable, influenced by both vegetation types and landscape properties. However, little is known about whether bedrock type influences vegetation drought sensitivity, especially in karst regions, where unique hydrogeology creates severe water stress for surface vegetation. In this study, we quantify the effect of bedrock types (i.e., limestone, dolomite, and clastic rocks) on vegetation drought sensitivity karst regions across Guizhou Province (China). We found that during the early growing season, vegetation sensitivity to drought was 1.3-1.8 times higher in limestone areas than in dolomite and clastic areas. We also determined that the duration of dry spells is a critical temporal factor that amplifies drought stress. Hierarchical modeling indicated that models jointly incorporating bedrock type and dry spell duration significantly improve predictions of vegetation activity. These findings highlight the crucial role bedrock’s in shaping vegetation growth under drought conditions, supporting the integration of bedrock data into hydrologic and climate models to improve their predictive accuracy under drought stress.

关键词: Karst, Vegetation activity, Bedrock types, Drought, Dry spell duration

Abstract: Droughts pose a significant global threat to ecosystem stability and plant diversity. The sensitivity of vegetation to drought is highly variable, influenced by both vegetation types and landscape properties. However, little is known about whether bedrock type influences vegetation drought sensitivity, especially in karst regions, where unique hydrogeology creates severe water stress for surface vegetation. In this study, we quantify the effect of bedrock types (i.e., limestone, dolomite, and clastic rocks) on vegetation drought sensitivity karst regions across Guizhou Province (China). We found that during the early growing season, vegetation sensitivity to drought was 1.3-1.8 times higher in limestone areas than in dolomite and clastic areas. We also determined that the duration of dry spells is a critical temporal factor that amplifies drought stress. Hierarchical modeling indicated that models jointly incorporating bedrock type and dry spell duration significantly improve predictions of vegetation activity. These findings highlight the crucial role bedrock’s in shaping vegetation growth under drought conditions, supporting the integration of bedrock data into hydrologic and climate models to improve their predictive accuracy under drought stress.

Key words: Karst, Vegetation activity, Bedrock types, Drought, Dry spell duration

Xiaona Li, Dingwu Zhang, Yinxixue Pan, Xiaogang You, Weijun Luo, Hongyan Liu, Zihan Jiang. Vegetation sensitivity to drought depends on bedrock type in a subtropical karst landscape in Southwest China[J]. Plant Diversity, 2026, 48(03): 586-597.

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Vegetation sensitivity to drought depends on bedrock type in a subtropical karst landscape in Southwest China

Vegetation sensitivity to drought depends on bedrock type in a subtropical karst landscape in Southwest China

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