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1. The importance of choosing precipitation datasets

   https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11381  

   Simpson, Micheal J.; Hirsch, Adam; Grempler, Kevin; Lupo, Anthony (December 2017, Hydrological Processes)
2. Precipitation–productivity relationships and the duration of precipitation anomalies: An underappreciated dimension of climate change

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15480  

   Felton, Andrew J.; Knapp, Alan K.; Smith, Melinda D. (December 2020, Global Change Biology)

   Abstract In terrestrial ecosystems, climate change forecasts of increased frequencies and magnitudes of wet and dry precipitation anomalies are expected to shift precipitation–net primary productivity (PPT–NPP) relationships from linear to nonlinear. Less understood, however, is how future changes in the duration of PPT anomalies will alter PPT–NPP relationships. A review of the literature shows strong potential for the duration of wet and dry PPT anomalies to impact NPP and to interact with the magnitude of anomalies. Within semi‐arid and mesic grassland ecosystems, PPT gradient experiments indicate that short‐duration (1 year) PPT anomalies are often insufficient to drive nonlinear aboveground NPP responses. But long‐term studies, within desert to forest ecosystems, demonstrate how multi‐year PPT anomalies may result in increasing impacts on NPP through time, and thus alter PPT–NPP relationships. We present a conceptual model detailing how NPP responses to PPT anomalies may amplify with the duration of an event, how responses may vary in xeric vs. mesic ecosystems, and how these differences are most likely due to demographic mechanisms. Experiments that can unravel the independent and interactive impacts of the magnitude and duration of wet and dry PPT anomalies are needed, with multi‐site long‐term PPT gradient experiments particularly well‐suited for this task. 

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3. The Signature of Southern Hemisphere Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Antarctic Precipitation: Antarctic Precipitation Variability

   https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL075998  

   Marshall, Gareth J.; Thompson, David W.; van den Broeke, Michiel R. (November 2017, Geophysical Research Letters)
4. The Interactive Effects of Precipitation and Disturbance on the Functioning of Dryland Ecosystems as Modulated by Mean Annual Precipitation

   Jordan, Samuel (April 2024, keep.lib.asu.edu)

   Terrestrial ecosystems are critical to human welfare and regulating Earth’s life support systems but many gaps in our knowledge remain regarding how terrestrial plant communities respond to changes in climate or human actions. I used field experiments distributed across three dryland ecosystems in North America to evaluate the consequences of changing precipitation and physical disturbance on plant community structure and function. Evidence from experiments and observational work exploring both plant community composition and ecological processes suggest that physical disturbance and precipitation reductions can reduce the diversity and function of these dryland ecosystems. Specifically, I found that aboveground net primary productivity could be reduced in an interactive manner when precipitation reductions and physical disturbance co-occur, and that within sites, this reduction in productivity was greater when growing-season precipitation was low. Further, I found that these dryland plant communities, commonly dominated by highly drought-resistant shrubs and perennial grasses, were not capable of compensating for the absence of these dominant shrubs and perennial grasses when they were removed by disturbance, and that precipitation reductions (as predicted to occur from anthropogenic climate change) exacerbate these gaps. Collectively, the results of the field experiment suggest that current management paradigms of maintaining cover and structure of native perennial plants in dryland systems are well founded and may be especially important as climate variability increases over time. Evaluating how these best management practices take place in the real world is an important extension of fundamental ecological research. To address the research-management gap in the context of dryland ecosystems in the western US, I used a set of environmental management plans and remotely sensed data to investigate how ecosystem services in drylands are accounted for, both as a supply from the land base and as a demand from stakeholders. Focusing on a less-investigated land base in the United States–areas owned and managed by the Department of Defense–I explored how ecosystem services are produced by this unique land management arrangement even if they are not explicitly managed for under current management schemes. My findings support a growing body of evidence that Department of Defense lands represent a valuable conservation opportunity, both for biodiversity and ecosystem services, if management regimes fully integrate the ecosystem services concept. 

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5. The ratio of mesoscale convective system precipitation to total precipitation increases in future climate change scenarios

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00481-5  

   Haberlie, Alex M.; Ashley, Walker S.; Gensini, Victor A.; Michaelis, Allison C. (September 2023, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science)

   Abstract Mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) are a substantial source of precipitation in the eastern U.S. and may be sensitive to regional climatic change. We use a suite of convection-permitting climate simulations to examine possible changes in MCS precipitation. Specifically, annual and regional totals of MCS and non-MCS precipitation generated during a retrospective simulation are compared to end-of-21st-century simulations based on intermediate and extreme climate change scenarios. Both scenarios produce more MCS precipitation and less non-MCS precipitation, thus significantly increasing the proportion of precipitation associated with MCSs across the U.S. 

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