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81 results for “temperate grasslands”

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Data from: How generalist herbivores exploit belowground plant diversity in temperate grasslands

Belowground herbivores impact plant performance, thereby inducing changes in plant community composition, which potentially leads to cascading effects onto higher trophic levels and ecosystem processes and productivity. Amongst soil-living insects, external root-chewing generalist herbivores have the strongest impact on plants. However, the lack of knowledge on their feeding behaviour under field conditions considerably hampers achieving a comprehensive understanding of how they affect plant communities. Here, we address this gap of knowledge by investigating the feeding behaviour of Agriotes click beetle larvae, which are common generalist external root-chewers in temperate grassland soils. Utilizing diagnostic multiplex PCR to assess the larval diet, we examined the seasonal patterns in feeding activity, putative preferences for specific plant taxa, and whether species identity and larval instar affects food choices of the herbivores. Contrary to our hypothesis, most of the larvae were feeding-active throughout the entire vegetation period, indicating that the grassland plants are subjected to constant belowground feeding pressure. Feeding was selective, with members of Plantaginaceae and Asteraceae being preferred; Apiaceae were avoided. Poaceae, although assumed to be most preferred, had an intermediate position. The food preferences exhibited seasonal changes, indicating a fluctuation in plant traits important for wireworm feeding choice. Species- and instar-specific differences in dietary choice of the Agriotes larvae were small, suggesting that species and larval instars occupy the same trophic niche. According to the current findings, the food choice of these larvae is primarily driven by plant identity, exhibiting seasonal changes. This needs to be considered when analysing soil herbivore-plant interactions.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →

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Data from: Taking plant-soil feedbacks to the field in a temperate grassland

Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) involve changes to the soil wrought by plants, which change biotic and abiotic properties of the soil, affecting plants that grow in the soil at a later time. The importance of PSFs for understanding ecosystem functioning has been the focus of much recent research, for example, in predicting the consequences for agricultural production, biodiversity conservation, and plant population dynamics. Here, we describe an experiment designed to test PSFs left by plants with contrasting traits under field conditions. This is one of the first, large- scale field experiments of its kind. We removed the existent plant community and replaced it with target plant communities that conditioned the soil. These communities consisted of contrasting proportions of grass and forb cover and consisted of either fast- or slow-growing plants, in accordance with the plant economics spectrum. We chose this well-established paradigm because plants on opposite ends of this spectrum have developed contrasting strategies to cope with environmental conditions. This means they differ in their feedbacks with soil abiotic and biotic factors. The experimental procedure was repeated in two successive years in two different subplots in order to investigate temporal effects on soils that were conditioned by the same plant community. Our treatments were successful in creating plant communities that differed in their total percentage cover based on temporal conditioning, percentage of grasses versus forbs, and percentage of fast- versus slow-growing plants. As a result, we expect that the influence of these different plant communities will lead to different PSFs. The unique and novel design of this experiment allows us to simultaneously test for the impacts of temporal effects, plant community composition and plant growth strategy on PSFs. Here, we describe the experimental design and demonstrate why this effective design is ideal to advance our understanding of PSFs in the field.

opencc-zeroNov 2019View details →

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Data from: Social-ecological landscape patterns predict woody encroachment from native tree plantings in a temperate grassland

Afforestation is often viewed as the purposeful planting of trees in historically non-forested grasslands, but an unintended consequence is woody encroachment, which should be considered part of the afforestation process. In North America's temperate grassland biome, Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) is a native species used in tree plantings that aggressively invades in the absence of controlling processes. Cedar is a well-studied woody encroacher, but little is known about the degree to which cedar windbreaks, which are advocated for in agroforestry programs, are contributing to woody encroachment, what factors are associated with cedar spread from windbreaks, nor where encroachment from windbreaks is occurring in contemporary social–ecological landscapes. We used remotely sensed imagery to identify the presence and pattern of woody encroachment from windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. We used multimodel inference to compare three classes of models representing three hypotheses about factors that could influence cedar spread: (a) windbreak models based on windbreak structure and design elements; (b) abiotic models focused on local environmental conditions; and (c) landscape models characterizing coupled human-natural features within the broader matrix. Woody encroachment was evident for 22% of sampled windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. Of our candidate models, our inclusive landscape model carried 92% of the model weight. This model indicated that encroachment from windbreaks was more likely near roadways and less likely near farmsteads, other cedar plantings, and waterbodies, highlighting strong social ties to the distribution of woody encroachment from tree plantings across contemporary landscapes. Cedar control efforts are insufficient for nearly one-quarter of windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. Our model findings indicate where additional investments into cedar control can be prioritized to prevent cedar spread from windbreaks. This approach can serve as a model in other temperate regions to identify where woody encroachment resulting from temperate agroforestry programs is emerging.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

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Data from: Prairie dogs, cattle subsidies, and alternative prey: Seasonal and spatial variation in coyote diet in a temperate grassland

As the dominant predator on North America's grasslands, coyotes (Canis latrans) have a large influence on biodiversity, both on working ranches and in protected parks. Ground squirrel (sciurid) species and livestock carrion are often abundant on grasslands worldwide and have the potential to influence a predator's consumption of alternative prey. We collected 1321 scats in four seasons over two years in and adjacent to Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, to test the hypothesis that seasonal and spatial variation in consumption of sciurid prey and cattle (Bos taurus) carrion influenced coyote consumption of alternative prey. Sciurid (black-tailed prairie dog Cynomys ludovicianus and Richardson's ground squirrel Urocitellus richardsonii) remains were common from spring to fall and had a strong inverse relationship with deer (mule deer Odocoileus hemionus and white-tailed deer O. virginianus), which were most common in winter scats. Cattle remains were most common during spring, fall and winter, occurring in 10.6% of scats annually. Biomass estimates indicated that cattle was the highest ranked food on cattle grazing land year-round, and the 2nd ranked food, after deer, during winter on the portion of the park from which cattle were excluded. Closer proximity of scats to a prairie dog colony increased the likelihood of prairie dog remains throughout the year and reduced the likelihood of cattle remains in scats from spring to fall, but not during winter. Individual differences in foraging and ranging behavior may explain the spatial distribution of prairie dog versus cattle in scats. Further work is needed to determine whether sciurid prey, deer, or livestock carrion support large predator populations on grassland habitats to a level that may negatively affect coexisting prey species, including species at risk.

opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

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Decreasing effects of precipitation on grassland spring phenology in temperate China

Vegetation phenology is highly sensitive to climate change. The timing of spring phenology in temperate grasslands is primarily regulated by temperature and precipitation. This study aims to study whether the primary factor regulating vegetation phenology changed under ongoing climate change and its underlying mechanisms. In this study, we extracted Start of Season (SOS) dates using five standard methods from satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and determined the primary regulating factor for spring phenology using partial correlation analysis.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

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Plant community legacy effects on nutrient cycling, fungal decomposer communities and decomposition in a temperate grassland

Soil legacies mediated by plant species-specific microbial communities are major drivers of plant community dynamics. Most soil legacy studies focus on the role of pathogens and mutualists in driving these processes, while much less is known about plant litter-mediated changes to the soil microbial community. Here, we used an existing plant-soil feedback field experiment in which plant communities with different growth strategies (i.e., fast versus slow) and different proportions of functional groups (grasses versus forbs) were allowed to condition the soil over contrasting temporal scales (i.e., one versus two years) in a natural grassland. In the feedback phase, we removed the existent plant community, and replaced it with a standardized response plant community. We then tested the legacy effects of these different soil conditioning treatments on decomposition processes, nutrient cycling and soil decomposer community composition. Soil legacy effects on decomposition and the soil decomposer community composition were most evident right after the start of the feedback phase, but disappeared soon after the new community established. The soil conditioning time and years since disturbance affected most of the soil functions consistently, while no strong effects of plant functional group and plant growth strategy were found. We conclude that after disturbance, it is recovery time, not soil legacy effects, that is the most important factor driving soil functions.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

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Plasticity of plant silicon and nitrogen concentrations in response to water regimes varies across temperate grassland species

Temperate grasslands exhibit strong spatial and temporal variation in water regimes. Thus, grassland plants experience potentially stressful water regimes, which may influence their tissue silicon (Si) and nitrogen (N) concentrations. Plant Si and N concentrations play important ecological roles in temperate grasslands, e.g. by influencing plant performance and herbivory, yet comparisons of species' responses to a broad range of water regimes, including drought, waterlogging, and flooding, are lacking. We conducted a mesocosm experiment with ten temperate grassland species of two life forms (grasses and forbs) exposed to four different soil water regimes (drought, benign control, waterlogged and flooded conditions), and analysed their Si and N concentrations. Grasses showed lower Si concentrations under drought and flooding compared to the benign control and the highest concentrations emerged under waterlogging. Overall, plant Si responses of grasses were more uniform, while in forbs, responses varied both in direction and magnitude across species. For N concentrations, all species and life forms showed the highest concentrations under drought compared to the benign control, while half of the species exhibited decreasing concentrations under waterlogging and/or flooding. The water regimes, especially waterlogging and flooding, induced changes in species rankings of plant Si and N concentrations, with stronger shifts in forbs than in grasses. Our results indicate that spatial and temporal variation of water regimes may influence plant Si and N concentrations in temperate grassland species. Plant Si responses to water regimes might be highly species-specific in forbs but more similar in grasses, whereas plant N responses are likely to be relatively uniform across species and life forms. The strong plasticity in plant Si and N concentrations we observed might have pervasive consequences for ecological processes, such as herbivory.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

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Vegetation resistance and resilience to a decade-long dry period in the temperate grasslands in China

The duration of climate anomalies has been increasing across the globe, leading to ecosystem function loss. Thus, we need to understand the responses of the ecosystem to long-term climate anomalies. It remains unclear how ecosystem resistance and resilience respond to long-term climate anomalies, e.g., continuous dry years at a regional scale. Taking the opportunity of a 13-year dry period in the temperate grasslands in northern China, we quantified the resistance and resilience of the grassland in response to this periodic dry period. We found vegetation resistance to the dry period increased with mean annual precipitation (MAP), while resilience increased at first until at MAP of 250 mm and then decreased slightly. No trade-off between resistance and resilience was detected when MAP < 250 mm. Our results highlight that xeric ecosystems are most vulnerable to the long-term dry period. Given expected increases in drought severity and duration in the coming decades, our findings may be helpful to identify vulnerable ecosystems in the world for the purpose of adaptation.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

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