Clonal demographic traits play important roles in regulating community dynamics. Yet, it remains unclear how the responses of these clonal traits to drought might depend on previous drought exposure, and how drought responses vary among grasslands. We conducted a repeated drought experiment across four grasslands along an aridity gradient in northern China. We assessed the effects of single (precipitation reduction in 2021-2022) versus recurrent (precipitation reduction in 2015-2018 and 2021-2022) drought on bud density, shoot density, and the ratio of bud to shoot density. Drought reduced bud density at all grasslands and shoot density at most grasslands. Drought reduced the ratio of bud-to-shoot density only in the most arid grasslands. Recurrent drought had larger negative effects than a single drought on bud density and composition of bud and shoot at only one of four grasslands, and on shoot density at two of four grasslands. Our results suggest that previous drought exposure can alter the response of plant clonal demographic traits to subsequent drought in some but not all grasslands, and that responses can vary with mean climate.

College of Forestry Henan Agricultural University Zhengzhou China

College of Resources and Environment University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China

Department of Biological Sciences California State University Chico California USA

Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico USA

Department of Botany Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Experimental and Functional Morphology Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Třeboň Czech Republic

Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing China

Liaoning Northwest Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station Erguna Forest Steppe Ecotone Research Station Institute of Applied Ecology Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and Long Term Ecological Research Network Office University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USA

School of Grassland Science Beijing Forestry University Beijing China

School of Life Sciences Institute of Life Science and Green Development Hebei University Baoding China

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Bengtsson, J., J. M. Bullock, B. Egoh, C. Everson, T. Everson, T. O'Connor, P. J. O'Farrell, H. G. Smith, and R. Lindborg. 2019. “Grasslands‐More Important for Ecosystem Services than You Might Think.” Ecosphere 10(2): e02582.

Benson, E. J., D. C. Hartnett, and K. H. Mann. 2004. “Belowground Bud Banks and Meristem Limitation in Tallgrass Prairie Plant Populations.” American Journal of Botany 91: 416–421.

Berdugo, M., B. Vidiella, R. V. Solé, and F. T. Maestre. 2022. “Ecological Mechanisms Underlying Aridity Thresholds in Global Drylands.” Functional Ecology 36: 4–23.

Canarini, A., H. Schmidt, L. Fuchslueger, V. Martin, C. W. Herbold, D. Zezula, P. Gündler, et al. 2021. “Ecological Memory of Recurrent Drought Modifies Soil Processes Via Changes in Soil Microbial Community.” Nature Communications 12: 5308.

Carter, D. L., B. L. VanderWeide, J. M. Blair, and L. Fraser. 2012. “Drought‐Mediated Stem and Below‐Ground Bud Dynamics in Restored Grasslands.” Applied Vegetation Science 15: 470–478.

Griffin‐Nolan, R. J., D. M. Blumenthal, S. L. Collins, T. E. Farkas, A. M. Hoffman, K. E. Mueller, T. W. Ocheltree, M. D. Smith, K. D. Whitney, and A. K. Knapp. 2019. “Shifts in Plant Functional Composition Following Long‐Term Drought in Grasslands.” Journal of Ecology 107: 2133–2148.

Griffin‐Nolan, R. J., C. J. Carroll, E. M. Denton, M. K. Johnston, S. L. Collins, M. D. Smith, and A. K. Knapp. 2018. “Legacy Effects of a Regional Drought on Aboveground Net Primary Production in Six Central US Grasslands.” Plant Ecology 219: 505–515.

Grime, J. P., V. K. Brown, K. Thompson, G. J. Masters, S. H. Hillier, I. P. Clarke, A. P. Askew, D. Corker, and J. P. Kielty. 2000. “The Response of Two Contrasting Limestone Grasslands to Simulated Climate Change.” Science 289: 762–765.

Huxman, T. E., M. D. Smith, P. A. Fay, A. K. Knapp, M. R. Shaw, M. E. Loik, S. D. Smith, et al. 2004. “Convergence across Biomes to a Common Rain‐Use Efficiency.” Nature 429: 651–654.

Klimešová, J. J., A. Martínková, and J. P. O. Bartušková. 2023. “Belowground Plant Traits and Their Ecosystem Functions along Aridity Gradients in Grasslands.” Plant and Soil 487: 39–48.

Klimešová, J. J., O. Tackenberg, and T. Herben. 2016. “Herbs Are Different: Clonal and Bud Bank Traits Can Matter More than Leaf‐Height‐Seed Traits.” New Phytologist 210: 13–17.

Knapp, A. K., C. J. W. Carroll, E. M. Denton, K. J. LaPierre, S. L. Collins, and M. D. Smith. 2015. “Differential Sensitivity to Regional‐Scale Drought in Six Central US Grasslands.” Oecologia 177: 949–957.

Luo, W., W. Ma, L. Song, N. Te, J. Chen, T. O. Muraina, K. Wilkins, et al. 2023. “Compensatory Dynamics Drive Grassland Recovery from Drought.” Journal of Ecology 111: 1281–1291.

Luo, W., T. O. Muraina, R. J. Griffin‐Nolan, W. Ma, L. Song, W. Fu, Q. Yu, et al. 2023. “Responses of a Semiarid Grassland to Recurrent Drought Are Linked to Community Functional Composition.” Ecology 104(2): e3920.

Muller, L. M., and M. Bahn. 2022. “Drought Legacies and Ecosystem Responses to Subsequent Drought.” Global Change Biology 28: 5086–5103.

Ott, J. P., J. Klimešová, and D. C. Hartnett. 2019. “The Ecology and Significance of Below‐Ground Bud Banks in Plants.” Annals of Botany 123: 1099–1118.

Qian, J., Z. Zhang, Y. Dong, Q. Ma, Q. Yu, J. Zhu, X. Zuo, et al. 2023. “Responses of Bud Banks and Shoot Density to Experimental Drought along an Aridity Gradient in Temperate Grasslands.” Functional Ecology 37: 1211–1220.

Slette, I. J., D. L. Hoover, M. D. Smith, and A. K. Knapp. 2023. “Repeated Extreme Droughts Decrease Root Production, but Not the Potential for Post‐Drought Recovery of Root Production, in a Mesic Grassland.” Oikos 2023(1): e08899. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08899.

Song, L., R. J. Griffin‐Nolan, T. O. Muraina, J. Chen, N. Te, Y. Shi, K. D. Whitney, et al. 2024. “Grassland Sensitivity to Drought Is Related to Functional Composition across East Asia and North America.” Ecology 105: e4220.

Te, N. 2024. “A Dataset of Bud and Shoot Demographic.” V1. Science Data Bank. https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.16010.

VanderWeide, B. L., D. C. Hartnett, and D. L. Carter. 2014. “Belowground Bud Banks of Tallgrass Prairie Are Insensitive to Multi‐Year, Growing‐Season Drought.” Ecosphere 5(8): 103.

Walter, J., A. Jentsch, C. Beierkuhnlein, and J. Kreyling. 2013. “Ecological Stress Memory and Cross Stress Tolerance in Plants in the Face of Climate Extremes.” Environmental and Experimental Botany 94: 3–8.

Yahdjian, L., and O. E. Sala. 2002. “A Rainout Shelter Design for Intercepting Different Amounts of Rainfall.” Oecologia 133: 95–101.