scholarly journals Climate variability supersedes grazing to determine the anatomy and physiology of a dominant grassland species

Oecologia ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seton Bachle ◽  
Jesse B. Nippert
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Carbon Assimilation ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Grassland Species ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Leaf Physiology ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems ◽  
Leaf Level

AbstractGrassland ecosystems are historically shaped by climate, fire, and grazing which are essential ecological drivers. These grassland drivers influence morphology and productivity of grasses via physiological processes, resulting in unique water and carbon-use strategies among species and populations. Leaf-level physiological responses in plants are constrained by the underlying anatomy, previously shown to reflect patterns of carbon assimilation and water-use in leaf tissues. However, the magnitude to which anatomy and physiology are impacted by grassland drivers remains unstudied. To address this knowledge gap, we sampled from three locations along a latitudinal gradient in the mesic grassland region of the central Great Plains, USA during the 2018 (drier) and 2019 (wetter) growing seasons. We measured annual biomass and forage quality at the plot level, while collecting physiological and anatomical traits at the leaf-level in cattle grazed and ungrazed locations at each site. Effects of ambient drought conditions superseded local grazing treatments and reduced carbon assimilation and total productivity in A. gerardii. Leaf-level anatomical traits, particularly those associated with water-use, varied within and across locations and between years. Specifically, xylem area increased when water was more available (2019), while xylem resistance to cavitation was observed to increase in the drier growing season (2018). Our results highlight the importance of multi-year studies in natural systems and how trait plasticity can serve as vital tool and offer insight to understanding future grassland responses from climate change as climate played a stronger role than grazing in shaping leaf physiology and anatomy.

scholarly journals Inter-Annual Climate Differences Supersede Grazing Effects on the Anatomy and Physiology of a Dominant Grass Species.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seton Bachle ◽  
Jesse B Nippert
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Carbon Assimilation ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Drought Conditions ◽  
Leaf Level ◽  
Forage Value ◽  
Dominant Grass

Abstract Grassland ecosystems are historically shaped by climate, fire, and grazing as essential ecological drivers. These grassland drivers influence morphology and productivity via physiological processes, resulting in unique water and carbon use strategies among species and populations. Leaf-level physiological responses in plants are framed by the underlying microanatomy, previously shown to reflect patterns of carbon assimilation and water-use in leaf tissues. However, the magnitude to which microanatomy and physiology are impacted by grassland drivers, remains unstudied. To address this knowledge gap, we sampled from three locations along a latitudinal gradient in the mesic grassland region of the central Great Plains, USA during the 2018 and 2019 growing seasons. We measured annual biomass and forage quality at the plot level, while collecting physiological and microanatomical traits at the leaf-level in cattle grazed and ungrazed locations at each site. Leaf-level measurements were focused on the dominant grass species Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) because of its high abundance, continental-scale distribution, and forage value. The two sampling seasons received markedly different levels of precipitation: drought conditions in 2018 and excessive early season precipitation in 2019. Ambient drought conditions negatively impacted A. gerardii physiology and drastically reduced productivity regardless of grazing. Leaf-level microanatomical traits, particularly those associated with water-use, varied within and across locations and between years. Our results highlight how trait plasticity can serve as an important tool for predicting future grassland responses to climate change and variable disturbances. Specifically, climate played a stronger role than grazing in shaping above-ground processes in microanatomy and physiology.

scholarly journals Water Use Characteristics of Two Dominant Species in the Mega-Dunes of the Badain Jaran Desert

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Jie Qin ◽  
Jianhua Si ◽  
Bing Jia ◽  
Chunyan Zhao ◽  
Dongmeng Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Badain Jaran Desert ◽  
Soil Layers ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Zygophyllum Xanthoxylum ◽  
Leaf Level ◽  
Desert Areas ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Selection Of Species

The sparse natural vegetation develops special water use characteristics to adapt to inhospitable desert areas. The water use characteristics of such plants in desert areas are not yet completely understood. In this study, we compare the differences in water use characteristics between two dominant species of the Badain Jaran Desert mega-dunes—Zygophyllum xanthoxylum and Artemisia ordosica—by investigating δ2H and δ18O in plant xylem (the organization that transports water and inorganic salts in plant stems) and soil water, and δ13C in plant leaves. The results indicate that Z. xanthoxylum absorbed 86.5% of its water from soil layers below 90 cm during growing seasons, while A. ordosica derived 79.90% of its water from the 0–120 cm soil layers during growing seasons. Furthermore, the long-term leaf-level water use efficiency of A. ordosica (123.17 ± 2.13 μmol/mol) was higher than that of Z. xanthoxylum (97.36 ± 1.16 μmol/mol). The differences in water use between the two studied species were mainly found to relate to their root distribution characteristics. A better understanding of the water use characteristics of plants in desert habitats can provide a theoretical basis to assist in the selection of species for artificial vegetation restoration in arid areas.

scholarly journals Microanatomical traits track climate gradients for a dominant C4 grass species across the Great Plains, USA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seton Bachle ◽  
Jesse B Nippert
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Andropogon Gerardii ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Climate Gradients ◽  
C4 Grass ◽  
Leaf Level

Abstract Background and Aims Andropogon gerardii is a highly productive C4 grass species with a large geographic range throughout the North American Great Plains, a biome characterized by a variable temperate climate. Plant traits are often invoked to explain growth rates and competitive abilities within broad climate gradients. For example, plant competition models typically predict that species with large geographic ranges benefit from variation in traits underlying high growth potential. Here, we examined the relationship between climate variability and leaf-level traits in A. gerardii, emphasizing how leaf-level microanatomical traits serve as a mechanism that may underlie variation in commonly measured traits, such as specific leaf area (SLA). Methods Andropogon gerardii leaves were collected in August 2017 from Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (MN), Konza Prairie Biological Station (KS), Platte River Prairie (NE) and Rocky Mountain Research Station (SD). Leaves from ten individuals from each site were trimmed, stained and prepared for fluorescent confocal microscopy to analyse internal leaf anatomy. Leaf microanatomical data were compared with historical and growing season climate data extracted from PRISM spatial climate models. Key Results Microanatomical traits displayed large variation within and across sites. According to AICc (Akaike’s information criterion adjusted for small sample sizes) selection scores, the interaction of mean precipitation and temperature for the 2017 growing season was the best predictor of variability for the anatomical and morphological traits measured here. Mesophyll area and bundle sheath thickness were directly correlated with mean temperature (annual and growing season). Tissues related to water-use strategies, such as bulliform cell and xylem area, were significantly correlated with one another. Conclusions The results indicate that (1) microanatomical trait variation exists within this broadly distributed grass species, (2) microanatomical trait variability appears likely to impact leaf-level carbon and water use strategies, and (3) microanatomical trait values vary across climate gradients, and may underlie variation in traits measured at larger ecological scales.

scholarly journals Potential and Limitations of Grasslands α-Diversity Prediction Using Fine-Scale Hyperspectral Imagery

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2649
Author(s):  
Hafiz Ali Imran ◽  
Damiano Gianelle ◽  
Michele Scotton ◽  
Duccio Rocchini ◽  
Michele Dalponte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hyperspectral Data ◽  
Hyperspectral Images ◽  
Grassland Species ◽  
Biodiversity Indices ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Α Diversity ◽  
Diversity Metrics

Plant biodiversity is an important feature of grassland ecosystems, as it is related to the provision of many ecosystem services crucial for the human economy and well-being. Given the importance of grasslands, research has been carried out in recent years on the potential to monitor them with novel remote sensing techniques. In this study, the optical diversity (also called spectral diversity) approach was adopted to check the potential of using high-resolution hyperspectral images to estimate α-diversity in grassland ecosystems. In 2018 and 2019, grassland species composition was surveyed and canopy hyperspectral data were acquired at two grassland sites: Monte Bondone (IT-MBo; species-rich semi-natural grasslands) and an experimental farm of the University of Padova, Legnaro, Padua, Italy (IT-PD; artificially established grassland plots with a species-poor mixture). The relationship between biodiversity (species richness, Shannon’s, species evenness, and Simpson’s indices) and optical diversity metrics (coefficient of variation-CV and standard deviation-SD) was not consistent across the investigated grassland plant communities. Species richness could be estimated by optical diversity metrics with an R = 0.87 at the IT-PD species-poor site. In the more complex and species-rich grasslands at IT-MBo, the estimation of biodiversity indices was more difficult and the optical diversity metrics failed to estimate biodiversity as accurately as in IT-PD probably due to the higher number of species and the strong canopy spatial heterogeneity. Therefore, the results of the study confirmed the ability of spectral proxies to detect grassland α-diversity in man-made grassland ecosystems but highlighted the limitations of the spectral diversity approach to estimate biodiversity when natural grasslands are observed. Nevertheless, at IT-MBo, the optical diversity metric SD calculated from post-processed hyperspectral images and transformed spectra showed, in the red part of the spectrum, a significant correlation (up to R = 0.56, p = 0.004) with biodiversity indices. Spatial resampling highlighted that for the IT-PD sward the optimal optical pixel size was 1 cm, while for the IT-MBo natural grassland it was 1 mm. The random pixel extraction did not improve the performance of the optical diversity metrics at both study sites. Further research is needed to fully understand the links between α-diversity and spectral and biochemical heterogeneity in complex heterogeneous ecosystems, and to assess whether the optical diversity approach can be adopted at the spatial scale to detect β-diversity. Such insights will provide more robust information on the mechanisms linking grassland diversity and optical heterogeneity.

The Neogene transition from C3 to C4 grasslands in North America: assemblage analysis of fossil phytoliths

Paleobiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline A. E. Strömberg ◽  
Francesca A. McInerney
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotopes ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems ◽  
Isotopic Records

The rapid ecological expansion of grasses with C4 photosynthesis at the end of the Neogene (8–2 Ma) is well documented in the fossil record of stable carbon isotopes. As one of the most profound vegetation changes to occur in recent geologic time, it paved the way for modern tropical grassland ecosystems. Changes in CO2 levels, seasonality, aridity, herbivory, and fire regime have all been suggested as potential triggers for this broadly synchronous change, long after the evolutionary origin of the C4 pathway in grasses. To date, these hypotheses have suffered from a lack of direct evidence for floral composition and structure during this important transition. This study aimed to remedy the problem by providing the first direct, relatively continuous record of vegetation change for the Great Plains of North America for the critical interval (ca. 12–2 Ma) using plant silica (phytolith) assemblages.Phytoliths were extracted from late Miocene-Pliocene paleosols in Nebraska and Kansas. Quantitative phytolith analysis of the 14 best-preserved assemblages indicates that habitats varied substantially in openness during the middle to late Miocene but became more uniformly open, corresponding to relatively open grassland or savanna, during the late Miocene and early Pliocene. Phytolith data also point to a marked increase of grass short cells typical of chloridoid and other potentially C4 grasses of the PACMAD clade between 8 and 5 Ma; these data suggest that the proportion of these grasses reached up to ∼50–60% of grasses, resulting in mixed C3-C4 and highly heterogeneous grassland communities by 5.5 Ma. This scenario is consistent with interpretations of isotopic records from paleosol carbonates and ungulate tooth enamel. The rise in abundance of chloridoids, which were present in the central Great Plains since the early Miocene, demonstrates that the “globally” observed lag between C4 grass evolution/taxonomic diversification and ecological expansion occurred at the regional scale. These patterns of vegetation alteration imply that environmental change during the late Miocene-Pliocene played a major role in the C3-C4 shift in the Great Plains. Specifically, the importance of chloridoids as well as a decline in the relative abundance of forest indicator taxa, including palms, point to climatic drying as a key trigger for C4 dominance.

Efficient Water Use in Dryland Cropping Systems in the Great Plains

2005 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 364-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Nielsen ◽  
Paul W. Unger ◽  
Perry R. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Efficient Water Use

scholarly journals Early Spring Snowmelt and Summer Droughts Strongly Impair the Resilience of Key Microbial Communities in Subalpine Grassland Ecosystems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhan Hafeez ◽  
Lionel Bernard ◽  
Jean-Christophe Clement ◽  
Franck Poly ◽  
Thomas Pommier
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Climatic Extremes ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Cascading Effect ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems ◽  
Microbial Responses ◽  
Early Snowmelt

Subalpine grassland ecosystems are important from biodiversity, agriculture, and touristic perspectives but their resilience to seasonally occurring climatic extremes is increasingly challenged with climate change, accelerating their vulnerability to tipping points. Microbial communities, which are central in ecosystem functioning, are usually considered as more resistant and highly resilient to such extreme events due to their functional redundancy and strong selection in residing habitats. To investigate this, we explored the soil microbial responses upon recurrent summer droughts associated with early snowmelt in grasslands mesocosms set-up at the Lautaret Pass (French Alps). Potential respiration, nitrification and denitrification were monitored over a period of two growing seasons along with quantification of community gene abundances of total bacteria as well as (de)nitrifiers. Results revealed that droughts had a low and short-term impact on bacterial total respiration supporting their hypothesized high resistance and ability to recover. Nitrification and abundances of the corresponding functional guilds showed relatively strong resistance to summer droughts but declined in response to early snowmelt. This triggered a cascading effect on denitrification but also on the abundances of denitrifying communities which could recover from all climatic extremes except from the summer droughts where nitrifiers were collapsed. Denitrification and the respective functional groups faced high impact of applied stresses with strong reduction in the abundance and activity of this specialized community. Although, the consequently lower microbial competition for nitrate may be positive for plant biomass production, warnings exist when considering the potential nitrogen leaching from these ecosystems as well as risks of greenhouses gases emission such as N2O

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