Droughts in Europe
By: Katie Grodski
Topics
 Explaining drought occurrence
 The three types of drought
 The causes of drought
 Effects drought has on wildlife and the environment
 Solutions
The 3 types of drought
 Meteorological drought
 Hydrological drought
 Agricultural drought
What is drought
 Drought is the prolonged absence of precipitation
causing a “dry’ period to occur in the environment.
 Drought is understood by 3 characteristics, severity,
frequency and duration.
 More meteorological drought is seen to occur in
areas of Europe
 According to articles evidence shows an increase in
drought found in Southern Europe then Northern
Europe due to the greater chance of lack of
precipitation
Causes of Drought
 Global warming/Climate Change
 Human activities causing climate change
 Precipitation/Temperature
 No water=no survival!
Effects of Drought
 Famine within European populations
 Shortage of water for vegetation and drinking water
 Shortage of soil moisture
 Decrease in productivity
 Agricultural issues
 Destruction od vegetation in Europe such as plants an
trees
Soil Nutrient Importance
 Soil properties, particularly soil nutrients and water holding
capacity, and their interactions with climate can
significantly influence the growth response of temperate
tree species to drought
 Soil properties are important in analyzing the growth of
trees and understanding its sensitivity to climate change,
because without can be misleading.
Conclusion:
 Drought is increasing in many areas of Europe mostly that od
Southern Europe
 Climate change plays a main role in the cause of many
droughts due to global warmning
 It is concluded that many aspects of the ecosystem are
affected by the hardships of drought and many plant and
animal species become vulnerable towards the lack of an
important resource of water.
 The inability to adapt to the increasing dryer conditions is
harmfully affecting any living organism causing them to
decline.
Sources

Bindi M, Olesen JE. 2011. The responses of agriculture in Europe to climate change. Regional Environmental Change 11:151-158. DOI: 10.1007/s10113-010-0173-x

Goldberg SD, Gebauer G. 2009. Drought turns a Central European Norway spruce forest soil from an N2O source to a transient N2O sink. Global Change Biology
15:850-860. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01752.x

Haavik LJ, Billings SA, Guldin JM, Stephen FM. 2015. Emergent insects, pathogens and drought shape changing patterns in oak decline in North America and Europe.
Forest Ecology & Management 354:190-205. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.019

Ivits E, Horion S, Fensholt R, Cherlet M. 2014. Drought footprint on European ecosystems between 1999 and 2010 assessed by remotely sensed vegetation phenology
and productivity. Global Change Biology 20:581-593.

Jentsch A, Kreyling J, Boettcher-Treschkow J, Beierkuhnlein C. 2009. Beyond gradual warming: extreme weather events alter flower phenology of European
grassland and heath species. Global Change Biology 15:837-849. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01690.x

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10.1111/1365-2745.12519
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