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Chronic and intense droughts differentially influence grassland carbon-nutrient dynamics along a natural aridity gradient

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Abstract

Background and aims

Grasslands are expected to experience both long-term chronic reductions in precipitation as well as increased frequency of short-term intense droughts. However, few studies have assessed how these two types of drought differentially alter carbon-nutrient dynamics of grassland vegetation and soil on broad spatial and temporal scales.

Methods

We conducted a two-year drought experiment in three types of grasslands along a natural aridity gradient in northern China. In each grassland, we removed ~ 50% of annual rainfall using two methods—chronic drought (66% reduction of each rainfall event for four months) and intense drought (100% removal of rainfall for two months). This allowed us to compare the effects of these drought characteristics on carbon and nutrient content of both vegetation and soil.

Results

Drought largely led to decreased carbon and nutrient pools, with vegetation concentrations being less responsive than pools likely due to decreased plant biomass. These responses depended on drought type, with no clear directional pattern of intense droughts having a greater effect than chronic drought. Sensitivity of biogeochemical responses to drought treatments decreased with increased aridity, likely due to the high abundance of drought-tolerant species in more xeric grasslands. Overall, ecosystem biogeochemical responses to manipulative drought did not match trends observed along the natural aridity gradient.

Conclusions

The sensitivity of carbon-nutrient dynamics of plant and soil strongly depends on drought type as well as local climate and species composition. Such differential drought responses highlight the challenge of predicting ecosystem responses to climate change over large spatial scales.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all who worked in the Extreme Drought in Grasslands Experiment (EDGE) for their assistance in planning and conducting the field experiment. This study was supported by funding from Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academic of Sciences (XDA23080401), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31971465, 31700391, 41603080 and 41320104002), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0500703) and Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2020199). JS and JP were funded by a European Research Council Synergy grant (ERC-SyG-2013-610028 IMBALANCE-P), Spanish Government grant (CGL2016-79835-P) and Catalan Government grant (SGR 2017 − 1005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Research Station, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China

    Wentao Luo, Zhengwen Wang & Xingguo Han

  2. Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou, 730030, China

    Xiaoan Zuo

  3. Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA

    Robert J. Griffin-Nolan

  4. National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 10008, China

    Chong Xu & Qiang Yu

  5. CSIC, Global Ecology CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08193, Spain

    Jordi Sardans & Josep Peñuelas

  6. CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08193, Spain

    Jordi Sardans & Josep Peñuelas

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  1. Wentao Luo
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  2. Xiaoan Zuo
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  9. Josep Peñuelas
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Correspondence to Qiang Yu or Zhengwen Wang.

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Luo, W., Zuo, X., Griffin-Nolan, R.J. et al. Chronic and intense droughts differentially influence grassland carbon-nutrient dynamics along a natural aridity gradient. Plant Soil 473, 137–148 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04571-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04571-8

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