Reference : Biomass production in experimental grasslands of different species richness during three...
Scientific journals : Article
Life sciences : Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...)
Life sciences : Environmental sciences & ecology
http://hdl.handle.net/2268/25116
Biomass production in experimental grasslands of different species richness during three years of climate warming
English
De Boeck, H. J. [Universiteit Antwerpen - UA > Department of Biology > Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology > >]
Lemmens, CMHM [Universiteit Antwerpen - UA > Department of Biology > Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology > >]
Zavalloni, C. [Universiteit Antwerpen - UA > Department of Biology > Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology > >]
Gielen, B. [Universiteit Antwerpen - UA > Department of Biology > Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology > >]
Malchair, Sandrine mailto [Université de Liège - ULg > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Ecologie végétale et microbienne - Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement >]
Carnol, Monique mailto [Université de Liège - ULg > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Ecologie végétale et microbienne >]
Merckx, R. [Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL > Department Earth and Environmental Sciences > Division Soil and Water Management > >]
Van den Berge, J. [Universiteit Antwerpen - UA > Department of Biology > Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology > >]
Ceulemans, R. [Universiteit Antwerpen - UA > Department of Biology > Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology > >]
Nijs, I. [Universiteit Antwerpen - UA > Department of Biology > Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology > >]
2008
Biogeosciences
European Geosciences Union
5
585-594
International
1726-4170
Katlenburg-Lindau
Germany
[en] climate warming ; plant diversity loss ; grassland species ; productivity
[en] Here we report on the single and combined impacts of climate warming and species richness on the biomass production in experimental grassland communities. Projections of a future warmer climate have stimulated studies on the response of terrestrial ecosystems to this global change. Experiments have likewise addressed the importance of species numbers for ecosystem functioning. There is, however, little knowledge on the interplay between warming and species richness. During three years, we grew experimental plant communities containing one, three or nine grassland species in 12 sunlit, climate-controlled chambers in Wilrijk, Belgium. Half of these chambers were exposed to ambient air temperatures (unheated), while the other half were warmed by 3 degrees C (heated). Equal amounts of water were added to heated and unheated communities, so that warming would imply drier soils if evapotranspiration was higher. Biomass production was decreased due to warming, both aboveground (-29%) and belowground (-25%), as negative impacts of increased heat and drought stress in summer prevailed. Complementarity effects, likely mostly through both increased aboveground spatial complementarity and facilitative effects of legumes, led to higher shoot and root biomass in multi-species communities, regardless of the induced warming. Surprisingly, warming suppressed productivity the most in 9-species communities, which may be attributed to negative impacts of intense interspecific competition for resources under conditions of high abiotic stress. Our results suggest that warming and the associated soil drying could reduce primary production in many temperate grasslands, and that this will not necessarily be mitigated by efforts to maintain or increase species richness.
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - FWO
Researchers ; Professionals ; Students
http://hdl.handle.net/2268/25116

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