Long-term exposure to elevated CO2 enhances plant community stability by suppressing dominant plant species in a mixed-grass prairie

Zelikova, Tamara Jane; Blumenthal, Dana M.; Williams, David G.; Souza, Lara; LeCain, Daniel R.; Morgan, Jack; Pendall, Elise

doi:10.1073/pnas.1414659111

Long-term exposure to elevated CO₂ enhances plant community stability by suppressing dominant plant species in a mixed-grass prairie

Journal Article · Mon Oct 13 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1414659111· OSTI ID:1348417

Zelikova, Tamara Jane ^[1]; Blumenthal, Dana M. ^[2]; Williams, David G. ^[3]; Souza, Lara ^[4]; LeCain, Daniel R. ^[2]; Morgan, Jack ^[2]; Pendall, Elise ^[5]

Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States); Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)
Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States); Univ. of Western Sydney, Penrith (Australia)

Climate controls vegetation distribution across the globe, and some vegetation types are more vulnerable to climate change, whereas others are more resistant. Because resistance and resilience can influence ecosystem stability and determine how communities and ecosystems respond to climate change, we need to evaluate the potential for resistance as we predict future ecosystem function. In a mixed-grass prairie in the northern Great Plains, in this study we used a large field experiment to test the effects of elevated CO₂, warming, and summer irrigation on plant community structure and productivity, linking changes in both to stability in plant community composition and biomass production. We show that the independent effects of CO₂ and warming on community composition and productivity depend on interannual variation in precipitation and that the effects of elevated CO₂ are not limited to water saving because they differ from those of irrigation. We also show that production in this mixed-grass prairie ecosystem is not only relatively resistant to interannual variation in precipitation, but also rendered more stable under elevated CO₂ conditions. This increase in production stability is the result of altered community dominance patterns: Community evenness increases as dominant species decrease in biomass under elevated CO₂. In many grasslands that serve as rangelands, the economic value of the ecosystem is largely dependent on plant community composition and the relative abundance of key forage species. Finally, our results have implications for how we manage native grasslands in the face of changing climate.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0006973

OSTI ID:: 1348417

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1454918

Journal Information:: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 43 Vol. 111; ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:: National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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