Alison K. Macalady

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the first global assessment of recent tree mortality attributed to drought and heat stress and identify key information gaps and scientific uncertainties that currently hinder our ability to predict tree mortality in response to climate change and emphasizes the need for a globally coordinated observation system.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors derived a forest drought-stress index (FDSI) for the southwestern United States using a comprehensive tree-ring data set representing AD 1000-2007, which is approximately equally influenced by the warm-season vapour-pressure deficit (largely controlled by temperature) and cold-season precipitation, together explaining 82% of the FDSI variability.

TL;DR: It is shown that, across multiple tree species, loss of xylem conductivity above 60% is associated with mortality, while carbon starvation is not universal, indicating that evidence supporting carbon starvation was not universal.

TL;DR: Using data sets from the western USA and associated studies, a framework is presented for determining the relative contribution of drought stress, insect attack, and their interactions, critical for modeling mortality in future climates.

TL;DR: It is suggested that for some ecosystems, integration of mechanistic pathogen models into current vegetation models, and evaluation against observations, could result in a breakthrough capability to simulate vegetation dynamics.