Interspecific trait variability and local soil conditions modulate grassland model community responses to climate.

ABSTRACT: Medium-to-high elevation grasslands provide critical services in agriculture and ecosystem stabilization, through high biodiversity and providing food for wildlife. However, these ecosystems face elevated risks of disruption due to predicted soil and climate changes. Separating the effects of soil and climate, however, is difficult in situ, with previous experiments focusing largely on monocultures instead of natural grassland communities. We experimentally exposed model grassland communities, comprised of three species grown on either local or reference soil, to varied climatic environments along an elevational gradient in the European Alps, measuring the effects on species and community traits. Although species-specific biomass varied across soil and climate, species' proportional

SUBMITTER: Alongi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8864100 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature