The Effects of an Initial Extreme Drought and Chronic Change in Precipitation on Plant Biomass Allocation in a Temperate Grassland.

ABSTRACT: Drying climate may strongly affect plant productivity and standing biomass and, thus, ecosystem carbon cycling. Whilst drought effects on grassland aboveground plant biomass (AGB) have been widely studied and are generally negative, reports on belowground plant biomass (BGB) are much fewer, and results are more variable. In a full factorial experiment in a temperate grassland, we studied the legacy effect of an initial extreme drought, conducted in 2014, and the effect of four levels of chronic precipitation change: water addition, ambient precipitation, moderate drought and severe drought between 2015 and 2018, on AGB, BGB and BGB/AGB in 2019. AGB was negatively affected by chronic drought and also by extreme drought within each level of chronic precipitation change except severe drought.

SUBMITTER: Voros AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12422408 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature