Effects of rainfall pattern on the growth and fecundity of a dominant dune annual in a semi-arid ecosystem

Gao, Ruiru; Yang, Xuejun; Liu, Guofang; Huang, Zhenying; Walck, Jeffrey L.

doi:10.1007/s11104-014-2366-4

Cited by 44 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, seed production may have been reduced. Drought increases fruit abortion, 28 reduces productivity with potential consequences on yield, 41 and reduces reproductive effort, 42 which diminishes flowering. 43 Drought favours clonal reproduction of some grassland species, which leads to a decrease in seed set.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…43 Drought favours clonal reproduction of some grassland species, which leads to a decrease in seed set. 42,44 Second, germination patterns might have been altered. At least in some species, seed germination percentage is higher from plants growing in dry soils compared with those from wet soils.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At least in some species, seed germination percentage is higher from plants growing in dry soils compared with those from wet soils. 42,45 Moreover, germination varies within species in response to soil water content, with some populations showing an increase in germination as soil moisture decreases. 46,47 Drought may increase germination through maternal effects on seed dormancy, 35 which, in some species, is reduced in seeds produced by plants growing in dry soils.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change models project shifts in precipitation patterns at regional and global scales. Increases in dry areas and the occurrence of drought predicted in future scenarios are likely to threaten grassland ecosystems. Calcareous grassland seed banks have proven to be resistant to short-term drought, but their responses to long-term drought are unknown. Here we show that 14 years of summer drought changed calcareous grassland seed bank composition, reducing its size and richness, and that these responses do not simply reflect patterns in the above-ground vegetation. Moreover, the effect of drought was larger on seed banks than on vegetation, and above-ground responses mediated by soil depth were less evident in the seed bank than in the vegetation. These results demonstrate that the severity of drought effects on calcareous grasslands is larger than previously thought, and show that this ecosystem is highly vulnerable and has low resilience to predicted decreases in soil moisture.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This makes it possible that artificial simulated precipitation patterns change, as the anthropogenic disturbance was used to predict the possible impact of precipitation pattern changes in the future on desert plants and can be observed at different scales and grains of definition.It is generally believed that the increase in precipitation will increase the above-ground biomass of desert shrubs [6][7][8] and decrease that of herbaceous plants [9], a decrease in precipitation increases the underground biomass of desert shrubs [6], which may be related to the lifestyle of the plants. However, other studies have also shown that the below−ground biomass of shrubs seedlings decreases with increased precipitation [8], and the biomass of herbaceous plants increases with increased precipitation [10], precipitation increases from 95 to 283 mm, which may be differently sensitive to ecosystem disturbance in different growth stages [11,12]. Some researchers have determined that the frequency of precipitation is also a key factor affecting plant growth [11,13,14].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other studies have also shown that the below−ground biomass of shrubs seedlings decreases with increased precipitation [8], and the biomass of herbaceous plants increases with increased precipitation [10], precipitation increases from 95 to 283 mm, which may be differently sensitive to ecosystem disturbance in different growth stages [11,12]. Some researchers have determined that the frequency of precipitation is also a key factor affecting plant growth [11,13,14]. The main change in precipitation will likely be in the intensity, frequency, and duration of events, but these characteristics are seldomly analyzed in observations or models [15].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of artificially simulated precipitation patterns change on the growth and morphology of Reaumuria soongarica seedlings in Hexi Corridor of China

Xie

Meng

et al. 2020

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change has altered the existing pattern of precipitation and has an important impact on the resistance and adaptability of desert plants. However, the interactive impact and the main characteristics of changes in precipitation amount and precipitation frequency on desert plants are unclear. Reaumuria soongarica seedlings were treated by artificially simulating changes in precipitation (30% reduction and 30% increase) and its frequency (50% reduction). We first introduced three morphological indicators (i.e., main root length/plant height ratio (RHR), above-ground radial density (ARD), and below−ground radial density (BRD)) and drew an abstract figure of seedling growth. This experiment confirmed the following: (1) The increase in precipitation noticeably increased the plant height, above-ground biomass, and total biomass of seedlings. (2) The plant height and the biomass of seedlings were more affected by precipitation amount than by precipitation frequency. No interaction was found between precipitation amount and precipitation frequency on the growth of seedlings. (3) The response of RHR to precipitation changes was extremely significant, increasing with decreasing precipitation and vice versa. (4) The ARD first increased then remained constant as precipitation increased, while ARD first decreased and then increased with decreasing precipitation. When precipitation increases, the BRD increases and the root system becomes relatively thicker and shorter, and vice versa. In this regard, R. soongarica seedlings mainly adapt to their resource supply by adjusting plant height, root length, thickness and biomass.

show abstract

Responses of non‐native and native plant species to fluctuations of water availability in a greenhouse experiment

Qin,

Sun,

Müller‐Schärer

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water availability strongly influences the survival, growth, and reproduction of most terrestrial plant species. Experimental evidence has well documented the effect of changes in total amount of water availability on non‐native vs. native plants. However, little is known about how fluctuations in water availability affect these two groups, although more extreme fluctuations in water availability increasingly occur with prolonged drought and extreme precipitation events. Here, we grew seven non‐native and seven native plant species individually in the greenhouse. Then, we exposed them to four watering treatments, each treatment with the same total amount of water, but with different divisions: W1 (added water 16 times with 125 mL per time), W2 (8 times, 250 mL per time), W3 (4 times, 500 mL per time), and W4 (2 times, 1000 mL per time). We found that both non‐native and native plants produced the most biomass under medium frequency/magnitude watering treatments (W2 and W3). Interestingly, non‐native plants produced 34% more biomass with the infrequent, substantial watering treatment (W4) than with frequent, minor watering treatment (W1), whereas native plants showed opposite patterns, producing 26% more biomass with W1 than with W4. Differences in the ratio of root to shoot under few/large and many/small watering treatments of non‐native vs. native species probably contributed to their different responses in biomass production. Our results advance the current understanding of the effect of water availability on non‐native plants, which are affected not only by changes in amount of water availability but also by fluctuations in water availability. Furthermore, our results indicate that an increased few/large precipitation pattern expected under climate change conditions might further promote non‐native plant invasions. Future field experiments with multiple phylogenetically controlled pairs of non‐native and native species will be required to enhance our understanding of how water availability fluctuations impact on non‐native invasions.

show abstract

Effects of rainfall pattern on the growth and fecundity of a dominant dune annual in a semi-arid ecosystem

Cited by 44 publications

References 51 publications

Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

Impact of artificially simulated precipitation patterns change on the growth and morphology of Reaumuria soongarica seedlings in Hexi Corridor of China

Responses of non‐native and native plant species to fluctuations of water availability in a greenhouse experiment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About