Elevated CO2 and warming effects on grassland plant mortality are determined by the timing of rainfall.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Global warming is expected to increase the mortality rate of established plants in water-limited systems because of its effect on evapotranspiration. The rising CO 2 concentration ([CO 2 ]), however, should have the opposite effect because it reduces plant transpiration, delaying the onset of drought. This potential for elevated [CO 2 ] (eCO 2 ) to modify the warming effect on mortality should be related to prevailing moisture conditions. This study aimed to determine the impacts of warming by 2 °C and eCO 2 (550 μmol mol -1 ) on plant mortality in an Australian temperate grassland over a 6-year period and to test how interannual variation in rainfall influenced treatment effects.

Methods

Analyses were based on results from a field experiment, TasFACE, in

SUBMITTER: Hovenden MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5604550 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature