Legacy Effects of Extreme Drought on the Belowground Bud Bank of Bunchgrass and Rhizomatous Steppe Communities in Inner Mongolia

Abstract Belowground bud banks play a crucial role in plant population regeneration, community dynamics and ecosystem functions in response to environmental change and disturbance. In mesic grasslands, belowground bud banks are largely resistant to short-term drought. The sensitivity of belowground bud banks to long-term extreme drought in semiarid steppes is less understood. Here, we investigated the legacy effects of a 4-year experimental drought (i.e., 66% reduction in growing season precipitation) on belowground bud density, aboveground shoot density and their relationship (represented by the meristem limitation index-MLI) in two temperate semiarid steppes with different dominated plant growth forms (i.e., bunchgrass vs. rhizomatous grass). Measurements were made during the first recovery year following drought; thus, we reported the legacy effects of drought on belowground bud bank. Results showed that at community level the densities of both belowground buds and aboveground shoots decreased while there was no change in MLI. However, drought had no significant influences on belowground buds, aboveground shoots and MLI of the dominant plant growth form. The legacy effects of drought were largely dependent on plant community type and growth form. Specifically, due to their cluster/phalanx clonal growth, bunchgrasses and communities they dominated were characterized by greater meristem limitation compared with rhizomatous grasses. Our study implies that integrating belowground bud bank demography into the predictive model of community dynamics and ecosystem functions in response to climate change should be considered to understand the differing responses among community type and dominant plant groups.

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Legacy effects of drought on nitrate leaching in a temperate mixed forest on karst

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110338 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 262 ◽

pp. 110338 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sonja Leitner ◽

Thomas Dirnböck ◽

Johannes Kobler ◽

Sophie Zechmeister-Boltenstern

Keyword(s):

Nitrate Leaching ◽

Mixed Forest ◽

Legacy Effects ◽

Temperate Mixed Forest ◽

Effects Of Drought

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Legacy effects of drought on plant-soil feedbacks and plant-plant interactions

New Phytologist ◽

10.1111/nph.14661 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 215 (4) ◽

pp. 1413-1424 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Aurore Kaisermann ◽

Franciska T. de Vries ◽

Robert I. Griffiths ◽

Richard D. Bardgett

Keyword(s):

Legacy Effects ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Plant Soil ◽

Effects Of Drought ◽

Plant Plant

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Timing of drought in the growing season and strong legacy effects determine the annual productivity of temperate grasses in a changing climate

10.5194/bg-2020-100 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Claudia Hahn ◽

Sara Ernst-Hasler ◽

Andreas Lüscher ◽

Ansgar Kahmen

Keyword(s):

Growth Rates ◽

Net Primary Production ◽

Growing Season ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Grass Species ◽

Drought Event ◽

Legacy Effects ◽

Weather Events ◽

Annual Biomass ◽

Effects Of Drought

Abstract. The frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts, is assumed to increase leading to alterations of ecosystem productivity and thus the terrestrial carbon cycle. Although grasslands typically show reduced productivity in response to drought, their effects have been shown to vary quite dramatically. Here we tested in a two-year field experiment, if the resistance and the resilience of grasses towards drought varies throughout a growing season and if the timing of drought, thus, influences drought-induced reductions in annual net primary production (NPP) of grasses. For the experiment we grew six temperate and perennial C3 grass species in a field as monocultures. The grasses were cut six times during the growing season and subject to 10-week drought treatments that occurred either in the spring, the summer or the fall. Across all species, drought-induced losses of productivity were smaller (−20 % to −51 %) than in summer and fall (−77 % to −87 %). This suggests a higher resistance to drought in spring when the productivity of the grasses is the highest and plants are in their reproductive stage. After the release of drought, we found no prolonged suppression of growth. In contrast, post-drought growth rates of formerly drought-stressed swards outperformed the growth rates of the control swards. In 2014, the overcompensation after drought release was similar in all seasons, but differed in 2015. The strong overcompensation of growth after drought release resulted in relatively small overall drought-induced losses of annual ANPP that ranged between −4 % to −14 % and were not affected by the timing of the drought event. Our results show that (i) the resistance of growth rates in grasses to drought varies across the season and is positively correlated with growth rates in the control, (ii) that positive legacy effects of drought indicate a high resilience of temperate grasses to drought, and (iii) that the high resilience can compensate immediate drought effects on total annual biomass production to a large extent.

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Incorporating Biological Traits into Conservation Strategies

Annual Review of Marine Science ◽

10.1146/annurev-marine-032320-094121 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 421-443

Author(s):

Marta Miatta ◽

Amanda E. Bates ◽

Paul V.R. Snelgrove

Keyword(s):

Spatial Planning ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Marine Conservation ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Biological Traits ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Marine Applications ◽

Monitoring Protocols

Implementation of marine conservation strategies, such as increasing the numbers, extent, and effectiveness of protected areas (PAs), can help achieve conservation and restoration of ocean health and associated goods and services. Despite increasing recognition of the importance of including aspects of ecological functioning in PA design, the physical characteristics of habitats and simple measures of species diversity inform most PA designations. Marine and terrestrial ecologists have recently been using biological traits to assess community dynamics, functioning, and vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts. Here, we explore potential trait-based marine applications to advance PA design. We recommend strategies to integrate biological traits into ( a) conservation objectives (e.g., by assessing and predicting impacts and vulnerability), ( b) PA spatial planning (e.g., mapping ecosystem functions and functional diversity hot spots), and ( c) time series monitoring protocols (e.g., using functional traits to detect recoveries). We conclude by emphasizing the need for pragmatic tools to improve the efficacy of spatial planning and monitoring efforts.

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Belowground bud banks and meristem limitation in tallgrass prairieplant populations

American Journal of Botany ◽

10.3732/ajb.91.3.416 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 91 (3) ◽

pp. 416-421 ◽

Cited By ~ 85

Author(s):

Emily J. Benson ◽

David C. Hartnett ◽

Kale H. Mann

Keyword(s):

Bud Banks ◽

Meristem Limitation

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Shoot population recruitment from a bud bank over two seasons of undisturbed growth of Leymus chinensis

Botany ◽

10.1139/b09-080 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 87 (12) ◽

pp. 1242-1249 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Ji-tao Zhang ◽

Chun-sheng Mu ◽

De-li Wang ◽

Jun-feng Wang ◽

Gui-xiang Chen

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Dynamics ◽

Growing Season ◽

Leymus Chinensis ◽

Axillary Shoot ◽

Bud Bank ◽

Eurasian Steppe ◽

Population Recruitment ◽

Bud Banks ◽

Rhizome Buds ◽

Clonal Species

Shoots of many clonal species are iterated seasonally by programmed growth from bud banks. Buds are not all the same but differ in their positions; these positions determine their densities, trigger times, and seasonal dynamics. To determine how different bud types contribute to a shoot population in an undisturbed environment, the densities of each bud type and daughter-shoot type were investigated in Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvelev. New horizontal rhizomes (A1-1) start to grow in late May, but new vertical buds (including the vertical apical rhizome buds (A1-2), axillary rhizome buds (B1), and axillary shoot buds (C1)) emerge in late June; after late June or late July, the density of A1-1 gradually decreased, whereas the vertical buds increased. In mid-season, the presence of a high proportion of A1-1, suggests that plants pursue a spreading strategy. Late in the season, a high proportion of vertical buds suggests that they adopt a propagation strategy. At the end of the growing season, the stable contributions of type-specific buds (A1-2, 16%; B1, 5%; C1, 79%) to the overall shoot population may explain the dominance of this species throughout the eastern Eurasian Steppe. Developing a clearer understanding of bud dynamics and their type-specific contributions under undisturbed conditions, is a necessary prerequisite for predicting their responses under disturbed conditions.

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Legacy effects of drought on gross primary productivity from eddy-covariance measurements

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9522 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xin Yu ◽

René Orth ◽

Markus Reichstein ◽

Ana Bastos

Keyword(s):

Eddy Covariance ◽

Primary Productivity ◽

Carbon Balance ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Gross Primary Productivity ◽

Legacy Effects ◽

Ecosystem Carbon ◽

Ecosystem Carbon Balance ◽

Eddy Covariance Measurements ◽

Effects Of Drought

<p>The frequency and severity of droughts are expected to increase in the wake of climate change. Drought events not only cause direct impacts on the ecosystem carbon balance but also result in legacy effects during the following years. These legacies result from, for example, drought damage to the xylem or the crown which causes impaired growth, or from higher vulnerability to pests and diseases. To understand how droughts might affect the carbon cycle in the future, it is important to consider both direct and legacy effects. Such effects likely affect interannual variability in C fluxes but are challenging to detect in observations, and poorly represented in models. Therefore, the patterns and mechanisms inducing the legacy effects of drought on ecosystem carbon balance are necessarily needed to improve.</p><p>In this study, we analyze gross primary productivity (GPP) from eddy-covariance measurements in Germany to detect legacy effects from recent droughts. We follow a data-driven modeling approach using a random forest model trained in different sets of drought and non-drought periods. This approach allows quantifying legacy effects as deviations of observed GPP from modeled GPP in legacy years, which indicates a change in the vegetation response to hydro-climatic conditions as compared with the training period.</p>

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Legacy effects of drought alters the aquatic food web of a northern boreal peatland

Freshwater Biology ◽

10.1111/fwb.12950 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 62 (8) ◽

pp. 1377-1388 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Dawn T. DeColibus ◽

Allison R. Rober ◽

Avery M. Sampson ◽

Amanda C. Shurzinske ◽

Jeremy T. Walls ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Web ◽

Legacy Effects ◽

Aquatic Food Web ◽

Aquatic Food ◽

Effects Of Drought

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Linking molecular deadwood-inhabiting fungal diversity and community dynamics to ecosystem functions and processes in Central European forests

Fungal Diversity ◽

10.1007/s13225-015-0341-x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 367-379 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Björn Hoppe ◽

Witoon Purahong ◽

Tesfaye Wubet ◽

Tiemo Kahl ◽

Jürgen Bauhus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fungal Diversity ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Central European ◽

European Forests

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Immediate and legacy effects of snow exclusion on soil fungal diversity and community composition

Forest Ecosystems ◽

10.1186/s40663-021-00299-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Li Zhang ◽

Yuzhi Ren ◽

Kaijun Yang ◽

Zhijie Li ◽

Bo Tan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Snow Cover ◽

Fungal Community ◽

High Throughput Sequencing ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Legacy Effects ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Soil Fungal Community ◽

Tibetan Forest

Abstract Background Soil fungi play crucial roles in ecosystem functions. However, how snow cover change associated with winter warming affects soil fungal communities remains unclear in the Tibetan forest. Methods We conducted a snow manipulation experiment to explore immediate and legacy effects of snow exclusion on soil fungal community diversity and composition in a spruce forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Soil fungal communities were performed by the high throughput sequencing of gene-fragments. Results Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the two dominant fungal phyla and Archaeorhizomyces, Aspergillus and Amanita were the three most common genera across seasons and snow manipulations. Snow exclusion did not affect the diversity and structure of soil fungal community in both snow-covered and snow-free seasons. However, the relative abundance of some fungal communities was different among seasons. Soil fungal groups were correlated with environmental factors (i.e., temperature and moisture) and soil biochemical variables (i.e., ammonium and enzyme). Conclusions These results suggest that the season-driven variations had stronger impacts on soil fungal community than short-term snow cover change. Such findings may have important implications for soil microbial processes in Tibetan forests experiencing significant decreases in snowfall.

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