Drought-exposure history increases complementarity between plant species in response to a subsequent drought.

ABSTRACT: Growing threats from extreme climatic events and biodiversity loss have raised concerns about their interactive consequences for ecosystem functioning. Evidence suggests biodiversity can buffer ecosystem functioning during such climatic events. However, whether exposure to extreme climatic events will strengthen the biodiversity-dependent buffering effects for future generations remains elusive. We assess such transgenerational effects by exposing experimental grassland communities to eight recurrent summer droughts versus ambient conditions in the field. Seed offspring of 12 species are then subjected to a subsequent drought event in the glasshouse, grown individually, in monocultures or in 2-species mixtures. Comparing productivity between mixtures and monocultures, drought-selected plan

SUBMITTER: Chen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9184649 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature