OOS 58

The Ecological Impacts of Drought As Revealed Through Experimental Approaches

For most terrestrial ecosystems, climate change induced increases in the frequency and severity of drought are likely to have the greatest ecological impact. Drought, defined by the IPCC as a “prolonged absence or marked deficiency of precipitation” can cause rapid and widespread mortality of individuals, long-term changes in community structure and large-scale alterations in ecosystem functions. Our current understanding of the ecological impacts of drought, which is the knowledge base we must draw from to forecast future impacts, is based primarily on opportunistic studies and site-level experiments. Opportunistic studies are often conducted after a natural drought has occurred and tend to capture only those events that have large ecological impacts. Experiments allow for greater control and have been instrumental in revealing mechanisms of ecological response. The purpose of this organized oral session is to address our current understanding of the impacts of drought through experimentation. The session will bring together researchers from around the globe that employ a variety of experimental approaches to provide a state-of-the-knowledge of the ecological impacts of drought.