Leander D.L. Anderegg William RL Anderegg Adrian Das Nathan L. Stephenson Anna T Trugman 2021 <div id="abstracts" class="Abstracts u-font-serif"><div id="ab0005" class="abstract author" lang="en"><div id="as0005"><p id="sp0050">Widespread tree mortality following droughts has emerged as an environmentally and economically devastating ‘ecological surprise’. It is well established that tree physiology is important in understanding drought-driven mortality; however, the accuracy of predictions based on physiology alone has been limited. We propose that complicating factors at two levels stymie predictions of drought-driven mortality: (i) organismal-level physiological and site factors that obscure understanding of drought exposure and vulnerability and (ii) community-level ecological interactions, particularly with biotic agents whose effects on tree mortality may reverse expectations based on stress physiology. We conclude with a path forward that emphasizes the need for an integrative approach to stress physiology and biotic agent dynamics when assessing forest risk to drought-driven morality in a changing climate.</p></div></div></div> application/pdf 10.1016/j.tree.2021.02.001 en Elsevier Why is tree drought mortality so hard to predict? article