The impacts of climate change on a northern calcareous grassland

Journal Article · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America

OSTI ID:95794

Grime, J P; Kielty, J P; Corker, D ^[1]

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1. NERC Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology, Sheffield (United Kingdom)

As part of an ambitious programme to study the impacts of climate change on ecosystem structure and function, field-based manipulations of temperature and rainfall have been imposed on an ancient Carboniferous limestone grassland. Using non-intrusive techniques developed at UCPE, factorial combinations of elevated winter temperature with either reduced or enhanced summer rainfall were applied to 3m x 3m plots with five replicates per treatment. Winter temperature was elevated by 3{degrees}C above ambient, summer rainfall was supplemented between June and September and artificial drought was imposed during July and August using automatic rainshelters. Results of point analysis, flowering surveys and D-vac suction sampling indicate that there are general responses and more complex species-specific responses to the treatments. Winter warming promoted; early flowering in some species, vegetative growth in others and in a few cases, both. Droughting and, unexpectedly, enhanced watering promoted tap-rooted species. Leafhopper emergence and leaf miner development occurred earlier in heated plots than unheated plots and total invertebrate community abundance was reduced in droughted plots and enhanced in watered plots. These results are the first to emerge from what will be a long-term study involving monitoring, climate manipulation and ecosystem modelling.

• OSTI ID: 95794
• Report Number(s): CONF-9507129--
• Journal Information: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 76; ISSN BECLAG; ISSN 0012-9623
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
CLIMATIC CHANGE
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
PLANT GROWTH
POPULATION DYNAMICS
RAIN
RANGELANDS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE