abundance
; annual variation
; biological production
; climate change
; community composition
; community response
; ecosystem function
; experimental study
; grass
; grassland
; plant community
; precipitation assessment
; primary production
; rare species
; species diversity
; Poaceae
; rain
; biodiversity
; grassland
; New Mexico
; plant physiology
; season
; Biodiversity
; Grassland
; New Mexico
; Plant Physiological Phenomena
; Rain
; Seasons
英文摘要:
Although precipitation interannual variability is projected to increase due to climate change, effects of changes in precipitation variance have received considerable less attention than effects of changes in the mean state of climate. Interannual precipitation variability effects on functional diversity and its consequences for ecosystem functioning are assessed here using a 6-year rainfall manipulation experiment. Five precipitation treatments were switched annually resulting in increased levels of precipitation variability while maintaining average precipitation constant. Functional diversity showed a positive response to increased variability due to increased evenness. Dominant grasses decreased and rare plant functional types increased in abundance because grasses showed a hump-shaped response to precipitation with a maximum around modal precipitation, whereas rare species peaked at high precipitation values. Increased functional diversity ameliorated negative effects of precipitation variability on primary production. Rare species buffered the effect of precipitation variability on the variability in total productivity because their variance decreases with increasing precipitation variance. � 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.
School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States; School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
Recommended Citation:
Gherardi L.A.,Sala O.E.. Enhanced interannual precipitation variability increases plant functional diversity that in turn ameliorates negative impact on productivity[J]. Ecology Letters,2015-01-01,18(12)