Ecosystem functional response across precipitation extremes in a sagebrush steppe.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Precipitation is predicted to become more variable in the western United States, meaning years of above and below average precipitation will become more common. Periods of extreme precipitation are major drivers of interannual variability in ecosystem functioning in water limited communities, but how ecosystems respond to these extremes over the long-term may shift with precipitation means and variances. Long-term changes in ecosystem functional response could reflect compensatory changes in species composition or species reaching physiological thresholds at extreme precipitation levels.

Methods

We conducted a five year precipitation manipulation experiment in a sagebrush steppe ecosystem in Idaho, United States. We used drought and irrigation treatments (approxim

SUBMITTER: Tredennick AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5855887 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature