Impacts of weather on long‐term patterns of plant richness and diversity vary with location and management

Abstract

Better understanding the influence of precipitation and temperature on plant assemblages is needed to predict the effects of climate change. Many studies have examined the relationship between plant productivity and weather (primarily precipitation), but few have directly assessed the relationship between plant richness or diversity and weather despite their increased use as metrics of ecosystem condition. We focus on the grasslands of central North America, which are characterized by high temporal climatic variability. Over the next 100 years, these grasslands are predicted to experience further increased variability in growing season precipitation, as well as increased temperatures, due to global climate change. We assess the portion of interannual variability of richness and diversity explained by weather, how relationships between these metrics and weather vary among plant assemblages, and which aspects of weather best explain temporal variability. We used an information-theoretic approach to assess relationships between long-term plant richness and diversity patterns and a priori weather covariates using six data sets from four grasslands. Weather explained up to 49% and 63% of interannual variability in total plant species richness and diversity, respectively. However, richness and diversity responses to specific weather variables varied both among sites and among experimental treatments within sites. In general, we found many instances in which temperature was of equal or greater importance as precipitation, as well as evidence of the importance of lagged effects and precipitation or temperature variability. Although precipitation has been shown to be a key driver of productivity in grasslands, our results indicate that increasing temperatures alone, without substantial changes in precipitation patterns, could have measurable effects on Great Plains grassland plant assemblages and biodiversity metrics. Our results also suggest that richness and diversity will respond in unique ways to changing climate and management can affect these responses; additional research and monitoring will be essential for further understanding of these complex relationships.

Effect of altitude and soil properties on biomass and plant richness in the grasslands of Tibet, China, and Manang District, Nepal

“…However, there was a significant negative relationship between altitude and mean annual temperature (Fig. In central North America, Jonas et al (2015) found that temperature acted as an important regulator on variations of species richness and diversity. 9d); therefore, our analysis showed that temperature dependence on altitude was comparatively higher than precipitation on the northern slope.…”

The role of water in plant–microbe interactions

“…Thus, water content in soil poses a major selective pressure in shaping soil microbial communities. Recent studies have documented that soil relative humidity is positively correlated with the richness of the soil microbiota (Lau and Lennon, 2012;Blazewicz et al, 2014;Jonas et al, 2015;Taketani et al, 2017). Rhizosphere bacterial communities from semi-arid ecosystems show a drastic increase in bacterial abundance during the wet season compared with the dry season.…”

“…Land plants obtain water mainly from soil, whereas microbes that live in or on land plants gain water from the plant and/ or water vapor from the atmosphere. Water availability is known to have a great impact on plant diversity and microbial community structure (Lau and Lennon, 2012;Blazewicz et al, 2014;Jonas et al, 2015;Taketani et al, 2017).…”

Co‐producing simulation models to inform resource management: a case study from southwest South Dakota

“…The fact that vegetation composition was largely driven by management alternatives may be more a reflection of the way that climate was incorporated into this model than actual climate/ vegetation relationships, and considerably more work needs to be done to better evaluate their relative contributions (e.g., Haferkamp et al 1993, Collins et al 2012, Koerner and Collins 2014, Jonas et al 2015. Regardless of the relative influence of climate and management, model results pointed to a tradeoff between the proportion of desired vegetation (e.g., WW/needle and thread) versus undesired vegetation (e.g., cool exotic grass) and biomass.…”

“…, Koerner and Collins , Jonas et al. ). Regardless of the relative influence of climate and management, model results pointed to a tradeoff between the proportion of desired vegetation (e.g., WW/needle and thread) versus undesired vegetation (e.g., cool exotic grass) and biomass.…”