No abstract

Shifts in the timing and frequency of climate extremes, such as drought and heatwaves, can generate sustained shifts in ecosystem function with important ecological and economic impacts for rangelands and managed pastures. The Pastures and Climate Extremes experiment (PACE) in southeast Australia used a factorial combination of elevated temperature (ambient +3 °C) and winter/spring extreme drought (60% rainfall reduction) to evaluate the impacts of increased frequency of climate extremes on pasture productivity and subsequent summer/autumn recovery. The experiment included nine species comprising three plant functional groups (C3 grasses, C4 grasses, and legumes) in monoculture and three two-species mixtures. The winter/spring drought resulted in productivity declines of up to 73% (Digitaria eriantha) during the 6-month treatment period, with nine of the twelve plantings exhibiting significant yield reductions. Functional group identity was not an important predictor of yield response to drought. Many species recovered rapidly once the drought ended, although there were carry-over effects on warm season (summer/autumn) growth for four species/mixtures, spanning all functional groups. Cool season drought translated into significant reductions in annual biomass production for four species/mixtures, ranging from 33% (Medicago sativa) to 70% (Festuca arundinacea). Additionally, warming had neutral to negative effects on productivity during both winter/spring and summer/autumn periods, resulting in annual yield declines of up to 58%, driven at least partially by indirect effects on soil water content. The combination of winter/spring drought and year-round warming resulted in net yield reductions that were either additive or less-than-additive, compared to ambient plots. This study demonstrates that predicted extreme climate conditions will have substantial negative impacts on productivity of common pasture and rangeland species.

Determining the relationship between reductions in stomatal conductance (gs) and leaf water transport during dehydration is key to understanding plant drought responses. While numerous studies have analysed the hydraulic function of woody species, minimal research has been conducted on grasses. Here, we sought to characterize hydraulic vulnerability in five widely‐occurring pasture grasses (including both C3 and C4 grasses) and determine whether reductions in gs and leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) during dehydration could be attributed to xylem embolism. Using the optical vulnerability (OV) technique, we found that all species were highly resistant to xylem embolism when compared to other herbaceous angiosperms, with 50% xylem embolism (PX50) occurring at xylem pressures ranging from −4.4 to −6.1 MPa. We observed similar reductions in gs and Kleaf under mild water stress for all species, occurring well before PX50. The onset of xylem embolism (PX12) occurred consistently after stomatal closure and 90% reduction of Kleaf. Our results suggest that factors other than xylem embolism are responsible for the majority of reductions in gs and Kleaf during drought and reductions in the productivity of pasture species under moderate drought may not be driven by embolism.

High temperature stress imposes constraints on the productivity of agricultural systems, such as pastures, and predicted increases in global temperatures are set to exacerbate these limitations. Here, we sought to understand the impact of warmer growth temperature on gas exchange and net primary productivity for two widely cultivated pasture species. We grew a C3 legume, Medicago sativa (lucerne), and a C3 grass, Festuca arundinacea Schreb (tall fescue), in a climate-controlled facility exposed to two temperature treatments (ambient: 26 °C, aT; elevated: 30 °C, eT). Soil water was maintained at non-limiting conditions in both temperature treatments to control for the confounding effects of warming on soil moisture. We found that warming reduced photosynthetic capacity and increased leaf dark respiration (Rdark) in lucerne, while tall fescue showed little physiological change at the leaf level, but increased ecosystem respiration (Reco). Growth temperature had no significant impact on the thermal optimum of photosynthesis (Topt) or water use efficiency in either species. Both species exhibited significant reductions in productivity with warming; lucerne had greater reductions in shoot biomass, while tall fescue had greater reductions in root biomass. Our results highlight the potential for significant declines in pasture productivity associated with even modest increases in average temperature and highlights the need for suitable management strategies and implementation of more heat-resistant cultivars. Improvements in photosynthetic performance for greater heat tolerance in lucerne, and traits associated with biomass allocation and root performance at higher temperatures in tall fescue, should be the focus for improving high temperature resistance in these plant species.

The effects of elevated CO2 on the short-term temperature response of leaf dark respiration (R) remain uncertain for many forest tree species. Likewise, variation in leaf R among populations within tree species and potential interactive effects of elevated CO2 are poorly understood. We addressed these uncertainties by measuring the short-term temperature response of leaf R in 15 provenances of Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden from contrasting thermal environments grown under ambient [CO2] (aCO2; 400 µmol mol–1) and elevated [CO2] (640 µmol mol–1; eCO2). Leaf R per unit area (Rarea) measured across a range of temperatures was higher in trees grown in eCO2 and varied up to 104% among provenances. However, eCO2 increased leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA) by 21%, and when R was expressed on a mass basis (i.e. Rmass), it did not differ between CO2 treatments. Likewise, accounting for differences in LMA among provenances, Rmass did not differ among provenances. The temperature sensitivity of R (i.e. Q10) did not differ between CO2 treatments or among provenances. We conclude that eCO2 had no direct effect on the temperature response of R in E. grandis, and respiratory physiology was similar among provenances of E. grandis regardless of home-climate temperature conditions.