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Effects of monsoon precipitation variability on the physiological response of two dominant C4 grasses across a semiarid ecotone

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

For the southwestern United States, climate models project an increase in extreme precipitation events and prolonged dry periods. While most studies emphasize plant functional type response to precipitation variability, it is also important to understand the physiological characteristics of dominant plant species that define plant community composition and, in part, regulate ecosystem response to climate change. We utilized rainout shelters to alter the magnitude and frequency of rainfall and measured the physiological response of the dominant C4 grasses, Bouteloua eriopoda and Bouteloua gracilis. We hypothesized that: (1) the more drought-adapted B. eriopoda would exhibit faster recovery and higher rates of leaf-level photosynthesis (A net) than B. gracilis, (2) A net would be greater under the higher average soil water content in plots receiving 30-mm rainfall events, (3) co-dominance of B. eriopoda and B. gracilis in the ecotone would lead to intra-specific differences from the performance of each species at the site where it was dominant. Throughout the study, soil moisture explained 40–70 % of the variation in A net. Consequently, differences in rainfall treatments were not evident from intra-specific physiological function without sufficient divergence in soil moisture. Under low frequency, larger rainfall events B. gracilis exhibited improved water status and longer periods of C gain than B. eriopoda. Results from this study indicate that less frequent and larger rainfall events could provide a competitive advantage to B. gracilis and influence species composition across this arid–semiarid grassland ecotone.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Lily Shuster, Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) staff and summer interns, Rob Pangle, Judd Hill, and the SNWR. This research was supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science (Biological and Environmental Research) through the Western Regional Center of the National Institute for Climatic Change Research, and the National Science Foundation grant to the University of New Mexico for LTER (DEB no. 0832652). Funding for M. L. T. was provided by the Sevilleta LTER summer fellowship, T&E, University fo New Mexico (UNM) Department of Biology Alumni Scholarships, UNM GRAC, SRAC, RPT.

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  1. Department of Biology MSC03-2020, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    Michell L. Thomey, Scott L. Collins, Michael T. Friggens, Renee F. Brown & William T. Pockman

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  1. Michell L. Thomey
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  2. Scott L. Collins
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Correspondence to Michell L. Thomey.

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Communicated by Joy K. Ward.

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Thomey, M.L., Collins, S.L., Friggens, M.T. et al. Effects of monsoon precipitation variability on the physiological response of two dominant C4 grasses across a semiarid ecotone. Oecologia 176, 751–762 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-3052-1

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