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  • Interspecific and intraspecific trait variability differentially affect community‐weighted trait responses to and recovery from long‐term drought
Title: Interspecific and intraspecific trait variability differentially affect community‐weighted trait responses to and recovery from long‐term drought
Abstract Plant traits are useful proxies of plant strategies and can influence community and ecosystem responses to climate extremes, such as severe drought. Few studies, however, have investigated both the immediate and lagged effects of drought on community‐weighted mean (CWM) plant traits, with even less research on the relative roles of interspecific vs. intraspecific trait variability in such responses.We experimentally reduced growing season precipitation by 66% in two cold‐semi‐arid grassland sites in northern China for four consecutive years to explore the drought resistance of CWM traits as well as their recovery 2 years following the drought. In addition, we isolated the effects of both interspecific and intraspecific trait variability on shifts in CWM traits.At both sites, we observed significant effects of drought on interspecific and intraspecific trait variability which, in some cases, led to significant changes in CWM traits. For example, drought led to reduced CWM plant height and leaf phosphorous content, but increased leaf carbon content at both sites, with responses primarily due to intraspecific trait shifts. Surprisingly, these CWM traits recovered completely 2 years after the extreme drought. Intraspecific trait variability influenced CWM traits via both positive and negative covariation with interspecific trait variability during drought and recovery phases.These findings highlight the important role of interspecific and intraspecific trait variability in driving the response and recovery of CWM traits following extreme, prolonged drought. Read the freePlain Language Summaryfor this article on the Journal blog.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1856383
PAR ID:
10501592
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
British Ecological Society
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Functional Ecology
Volume:
37
Issue:
3
ISSN:
0269-8463
Page Range / eLocation ID:
504 to 512
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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