Responses of plant leaf economic and hydraulic traits mediate the effects of early- and late-season drought on grassland productivity
VITRA, Amarante
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
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Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
VITRA, Amarante
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
SIGNARBIEUX, Constant
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
LAMACQUE, Lia
Laboratoire de Physique et Physiologie Intégratives de l’Arbre en environnement Fluctuant [PIAF]
Laboratoire de Physique et Physiologie Intégratives de l’Arbre en environnement Fluctuant [PIAF]
BUTTLER, Alexandre
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249) [LCE]
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249) [LCE]
MARIOTTE, Pierre
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
< Reduce
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Language
en
Article de revue
This item was published in
AoB Plants. 2019, vol. 11, n° 3, p. 15
Oxford University Press
English Abstract
Drought can occur at different times during the grassland growing season, likely having contrasting effects on forage production when happening early or later in the season. However, knowledge about the interacting effects ...Read more >
Drought can occur at different times during the grassland growing season, likely having contrasting effects on forage production when happening early or later in the season. However, knowledge about the interacting effects of the timing of drought and the development stage of the vegetation during the growing season is still scarce, thus limiting our ability to accurately predict forage quantity losses. To investigate plant community responses to drought seasonality (early-vs. late-season), we established a drought experiment in two permanent grasslands of the Swiss Jura Mountains that are used for forage production. We measured three plant functional traits, including two leaf traits related to plant economics (specific leaf area, SLA; leaf dry matter content, LDMC) and one hydraulic trait related to physiological function (predicted percentage loss of hydraulic conductance, PLCp), of the most abundant species, and plant above-ground biomass production. Plant species composition was also determined to calculate community-weighted mean (CWM) traits. First, we observed that CWM trait values strongly varied during the growing season. Second, we found that late-season drought had stronger effects on CWM trait values than early-season drought and that the plant hydraulic trait was the most variable functional trait. Using a structural equation model, we also showed that reduction in soil moisture had no direct impacts on above-ground biomass production. Instead, we observed that the drought-induced decrease in above-ground biomass production was mediated by a higher CWM PLCp (i.e. higher risk of hydraulic failure) and lower CWM SLA under drought. Change in CWM SLA in response to drought was the best predictor of community above-ground biomass production. Our findings reveal the importance of drought timing together with the plant trait responses to assess drought impacts on grassland biomass production and suggest that incorporating these factors into mechanistic models could considerably improve predictions of climate change impacts.Read less <
Keywords
climat extrème
diversité
écosystème
biomasse aérienne
plante
prairie
productivité
vulnérabilité
stress hydrique
dynamique végétale
précipitation
activité hydraulique
sécheresse
pluviométrie
population
English Keywords
plant
rainfall rate recording
grassland
water stress
hydraulic status
precipitation manipulation
rainout shelter
Plant Sciences
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
communities
Drought timing
grassland productivity
plant functional traits
vegetation dynamics
water limitation
aboveground biomass production
climate extremes
water-stress
summer
drought
ecosystem
area
vulnerability
diversity
rainfall
Origin
Hal imported