Local adaptation to precipitation in the perennial grass Elymus elymoides: Trade-offs between growth and drought resistance traits.

ABSTRACT: Understanding local adaptation to climate is critical for managing ecosystems in the face of climate change. While there have been many provenance studies in trees, less is known about local adaptation in herbaceous species, including the perennial grasses that dominate arid and semiarid rangeland ecosystems. We used a common garden study to quantify variation in growth and drought resistance traits in 99 populations of Elymus elymoides from a broad geographic and climatic range in the western United States. Ecotypes from drier sites produced less biomass and smaller seeds, and had traits associated with greater drought resistance: small leaves with low osmotic potential and high integrated water use efficiency (δ¹³C). Seasonality also influenced plant traits. Plants from

SUBMITTER: Blumenthal DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7896711 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature