Natural Ecosystems in Argentina Demonstrate Greater Drought Resilience Than Agricultural Lands, Study Finds
A recent national-scale investigation in Argentina, utilizing over two decades of satellite observations, has revealed that natural vegetation exhibits significantly higher and more stable resilience to droughts compared to agricultural and cultivated lands. Researchers tracked aboveground net primary productivity dynamics from 2001 to 2024 using the Enhanced Vegetation Index. The study found that structurally complex native ecosystems maintained greater functional stability during precipitation deficits, whereas human-modified systems showed pronounced vulnerability with steeper productivity declines as meteorological drought conditions intensified. Across Argentina's diverse landscape, native plant covers buffered climatic fluctuations more effectively than simplified croplands and pastures. The investigation divided Argentina's terrestrial territory into 50 distinct vegetation units and mapped stable vegetation covers at 30-meter resolution. Meteorological drought events were quantified at a 5-kilometer...
