Drought-related mortality of tropical trees shows complex patterns which could change forest community structure and composition with cascading effects on biodiversity . During drought, the mortality rate is enhanced in larger-sized trees in tropical forests , with significant impacts on forest structure, carbon storage and regional hydrology . The mortality rate of neotropical moist forest trees appears to be consistently increasing since the 1980s , with plant functional types such as softwood, pioneer and evergreen species suffering higher mortality during years of extreme drought . Large trees ) in tropical dry forests have much lower mortality rates than those reported for tropical moist forests . Contrary to expectation, during prolonged droughts in these dry forests, deeper- rooted tree species are more likely to die than shallow-rooted ones, which are more adapted to changes in soil moisture content, because of water depletion in the deepest unsaturated zone .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report