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Drivers of Variation in Aboveground Net Primary Productivity and Plant Community Composition Differ Across a Broad Precipitation Gradient

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Abstract

Aboveground net primary production (ANPP) is a key integrator of C uptake and energy flow in many terrestrial ecosystems. As such, ecologists have long sought to understand the factors driving variation in this important ecosystem process. Although total annual precipitation has been shown to be a strong predictor of ANPP in grasslands across broad spatial scales, it is often a poor predictor at local scales. Here we examine the amount of variation in ANPP that can be explained by total annual precipitation versus precipitation during specific periods of the year (precipitation periods) and nutrient availability at three sites representing the major grassland types (shortgrass steppe, mixed-grass prairie, and tallgrass prairie) spanning the broad precipitation gradient of the U.S. Central Great Plains. Using observational data, we found that precipitation periods and nutrient availability were much stronger predictors of site-level ANPP than total annual precipitation. However, the specific nutrients and precipitation periods that best predicted ANPP differed among the three sites. These effects were mirrored experimentally at the shortgrass and tallgrass sites, with precipitation and nutrient availability co-limiting ANPP, but not at the mixed-grass site, where nutrient availability determined ANPP exclusive of precipitation effects. Dominant grasses drove the ANPP response to increased nutrient availability at all three sites. However, the relative responses of rare grasses and forbs were greater than those of the dominant grasses to experimental nutrient additions, thus potentially driving species turnover with chronic nutrient additions. This improved understanding of the factors driving variation in ANPP within ecosystems spanning the broad precipitation gradient of the Great Plains will aid predictions of alterations in ANPP under future global change scenarios.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to M. Avolio, C. Blair, C. Chang, C. Davis, L. Dev, K. Harmony, J. Kray, S. Koerner, A. Kuhl, A. Monty, P. O’Neil, M. Parsons, R. Ramundo, T. Schreck, and the SGS field crew for field assistance. M. Avolio, K. Gross, D. Post, O. Schmitz, and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful feedback on earlier drafts of the manuscript. K. La Pierre was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Additional funding was provided by a Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies Center for Field Ecology Pilot Grant to K. La Pierre, Konza Prairie LTER (NSF-DEB-0823341), and Shortgrass Steppe LTER (NSF-DEB-1027319). This work was generated using data from three sites within the Nutrient Network, coordinated through Research Coordination Network funding from NSF to E. Borer and E. Seabloom (NSF-DEB-1042132). Nitrogen fertilizer was graciously donated by Crop Production Services, Loveland, CO.

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  1. Kimberly J. La Pierre

    Present address: Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 4099 Valley Life Science Building, Berkeley, California, 94720-3140, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA

    Kimberly J. La Pierre

  2. Rangeland Resources Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1701 Center Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80526, USA

    Dana M. Blumenthal

  3. Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, Colorado State University, Campus Delivery 1177, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    Cynthia S. Brown

  4. Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Campus Delivery 1472, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    Julia A. Klein

  5. Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Campus Delivery 1878, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    Melinda D. Smith

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Correspondence to Kimberly J. La Pierre.

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All authors conceived the study; KJL, DMB, CSB, and JAK performed the research; KJL analyzed the data; KJL wrote the paper with editorial assistance from all authors.

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La Pierre, K.J., Blumenthal, D.M., Brown, C.S. et al. Drivers of Variation in Aboveground Net Primary Productivity and Plant Community Composition Differ Across a Broad Precipitation Gradient. Ecosystems 19, 521–533 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-015-9949-7

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