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Stability of tallgrass prairie during a 19-year increase in growing season precipitation
Article first published online: 25 APR 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01995.x
© 2012 The Authors. Functional Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society
Additional Information
How to Cite
Collins, S. L., Koerner, S. E., Plaut, J. A., Okie, J. G., Brese, D., Calabrese, L. B., Carvajal, A., Evansen, R. J. and Nonaka, E. (2012), Stability of tallgrass prairie during a 19-year increase in growing season precipitation. Functional Ecology, 26: 1450–1459. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01995.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 21 NOV 2012
- Article first published online: 25 APR 2012
- Received 19 December 2011; accepted 20 March 2012 Handling Editor: Scott Wilson
Keywords:
- Andropogon gerardii ;
- functional traits;
- Panicum virgatum ;
- precipitation experiment;
- species diversity;
- tallgrass prairie
Summary
1. Precipitation is considered to be a key driver of ecosystem processes in mesic grasslands, and climate models predict changes in the amount and intensity of precipitation under future global change scenarios. Although most experimental rainfall studies decrease precipitation, seasonal rainfall is predicted to increase in the northern Great Plains under climate change.
2. We analysed changes in community composition and structure of upland and lowland native tallgrass prairie in central Kansas, USA, subjected to 19 years of irrigation designed to eliminate moisture stress throughout the growing season.
3. Irrigation had limited effects on species richness in both upland and lowland prairie. Total cover increased significantly and consistently with irrigation in drier uplands and in more mesic lowlands. Abundance of rhizomatous, tall, perennial species as well as C3 forbs increased with irrigation.
4. The strongest response to irrigation came within the dominant functional type, C4 perennial grasses. Panicum virgatum became the dominant species in irrigated lowlands, whereas Andropogon gerardii remained the dominant species in irrigated uplands and in control plots. Overall, irrigation had less effect on community composition and structure than other known drivers of grassland structure and function.
5. In comparison with other studies, our results demonstrate that water addition has less of an impact than fire, grazing or nitrogen addition on composition and dynamics in this mesic grassland. The strongest response to long-term irrigation occurred within the dominant functional type: tall, perennial, rhizomatous, C4 grasses. Thus, functional redundancy will buffer this ecosystem from potential increases in rainfall due to climate change. Finally, our results highlight the limited utility of qualitative functional traits to predict how this mesic grassland will respond to climate change.