Ecological impacts of droughts

In the face of ongoing climate change, extreme weather events such as droughts are becoming more frequent and intense, exposing species to an ever-increasing physiological stress and causing multiple ecological problems all around the globe. Mountain areas, where the rise in temperature exceeds the global average, are some of the most affected. This makes alpine and subalpine ecosystems a subject of major concern. Indeed, we know that many species are shifting their distribution ranges uphill, sometimes being driven to an inevitable extinction. In addition, some ecosystems, such as mountain forests, are at a particularly high risk of suffering from drought-related stress, as trees tend to lack adaptations to low water availability at high altitudes. Given the unique species richness of these regions, with forests, wetlands and grasslands hosting around half of the biodiversity hotspots of our planet, understanding the ongoing and upcoming ecological impacts of drought remains a topic of maximum relevance.