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Stronger Short-Term Effects of Mowing Than Extreme Summer Weather on a Subalpine Grassland

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Abstract

Mowing is known to favor plant diversity and influence ecosystem functioning in semi-natural grasslands. This effect could be influenced by climate variability, especially in regions with harsh climate, such as subalpine zones. In particular, short-term extreme weather fluctuations may induce rapid plant responses, affecting in turn the response to mowing. We tested the effects of concomitant summer weather manipulation and mowing on a subalpine grassland in the Central French Alps for two consecutive years. We addressed two questions: (1) How is a subalpine grassland affected by extreme summer weather? (2) Does extreme summer weather alter mowing effects on the grassland plant diversity and functioning? We used a multi-level, integrative approach assessing the responses of six abundant plant species, as well as effects on plant community structure, biomass production, and litter decomposition rates. Extreme summer weather was simulated by increasing summer temperature by 1.1°C, and decreasing summer rainfall by 80%—resulting in a 30% decrease in total annual precipitation. In addition, a heat-wave event was simulated during the first year of the experiment. This weather manipulation was combined with a late-summer mowing treatment (mown vs. unmown). Extreme summer weather mainly increased leaf senescence and decreased plant vegetative growth. Leaf litter decomposition was slowed, but only for species characterized by the fastest rates of litter decomposition. Mowing increased plant diversity by restricting the dominant grass species, thereby favoring subordinates. In the short term, this subalpine grassland was rather resistant to extreme summer weather, whereas mowing cessation remained the main factor affecting its biodiversity.

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Acknowledgments

This research was conducted on the long-term research site Zone Atelier Alpes, a member of the ILTER-Europe network. It was funded by projects ANR AAP VMC 2007 VALIDATE and MEDDTL GICC2 SECALP. The authors are grateful to R. Douzet and J. Girel for field assistance and help with species identification, to P. Gos, J. Lochet, and N. Legay and the staff of the Station Alpine Joseph Fourier (SAJF) for help with installation of the experiment, to C. Arnoldi for assistance in leaf trait measurements, and to the editors and the anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Marie-Lise Benot

    Present address: UMR1202, BIOGECO, Université de Bordeaux, Bâtiment B2, Avenue des Facultés, 33405, Talence, France

  2. Patrick Saccone

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Oulu, PO 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, UMR 5553 CNRS Université Joseph Fourier, BP 53, 2233 Rue de la Piscine, 38041, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Marie-Lise Benot, Patrick Saccone, Emmanuelle Pautrat, Rachel Vicente, Marie-Pascale Colace, Jean-Christophe Clément & Sandra Lavorel

  2. Station Alpine Joseph Fourier, UMS 3370 CNRS Université Joseph Fourier, BP 53, 2233 Rue de la Piscine, 38041, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Karl Grigulis

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SL conceived the experiment and supervised the study. JCC and KG collaborated in designing the experiment. EP, MLB, PS, and RV performed the experiment. MLB and PS analyzed the data. KG and MPC collaborated in data collection and analysis. MLB, PS, and SL wrote the manuscript. JCC, KG, and MPC provided editorial advice.

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Benot, ML., Saccone, P., Pautrat, E. et al. Stronger Short-Term Effects of Mowing Than Extreme Summer Weather on a Subalpine Grassland. Ecosystems 17, 458–472 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9734-4

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