Tag: drought

plant physiological ecology

Growth and water-use traits of grasses in Australia are coordinated

Robert J. Griffin-Nolan, Jeff Chieppa, Alan K. Knapp, Uffe N. Nielsen, and David T. Tissue This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Grasses are an ecologically, economically, and culturally important group of plants. They provide us with food and building materials, store carbon belowground, and are the dominant plant growth form of grassland ecosystems. As … Continue reading Growth and water-use traits of grasses in Australia are coordinated

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community ecology

Grassland bud banks in responses to short- and long-term drought

Jianqiang Qian, Zhiming Zhang, Yawei Dong, Qun Ma, Qiang Yu, Jinlei Zhu, Xiaoan Zuo, Caitlin M. Broderick, Scott L. Collins, Xingguo Han, Wentao Luo This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Plants can regenerate sexually through the production of seeds, or asexually via growth from belowground meristems. In perennial grasslands, however, population dynamics and primary … Continue reading Grassland bud banks in responses to short- and long-term drought

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community ecology

Soil moisture and competition determine soil biota effects on invasive spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)

Rebecca A. Bunn, Pedro M. Antunes, Lorinda S. Bullington, Catherine Fahey, Ylva Lekberg This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Plants, much like humans, have communities of microscopic biota inside them. The identity and activity of these biota can help some plants, while at the same time, hurting others. For example, the invasive plant spotted … Continue reading Soil moisture and competition determine soil biota effects on invasive spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)

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plant physiological ecology

Plant responses to environmental conditions control the moisture content of living fine fuels

Anne Griebel, Matthias M. Boer, Chris Blackman, Brendan Choat, David S. Ellsworth, Paul Madden, Belinda Medlyn, V´ıctor Resco de Dios, Agnieszka Wujeska-Klause, Marta Yebra, Nicolas Younes Cardenas, Rachael H. Nolan This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. The moisture content of living tissues is an important predictor of the occurrence of wildfires as it affects … Continue reading Plant responses to environmental conditions control the moisture content of living fine fuels

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ecosystems ecology

Understanding drought effects on litter decomposition

Laura Reinelt, Jeanette Whitaker, Elena Kazakou, Laurent Bonnal, Denis Bastianelli, James M. Bullock, Nicholas J. Ostle This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Droughts will become more frequent and severe with climate change. This can in turn affect ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling in a way that leads to altered greenhouse gas emissions, creating feedback … Continue reading Understanding drought effects on litter decomposition

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animal physiological ecology

Phenotypic plasticity in desiccation physiology of geographically range restricted and broadly distributed fruit fly species

Henrika J. Bosua, Christopher W. Weldon, John S. Terblanche This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. There is pronounced geographic range size variation even among closely related terrestrial insect species. Such variation in species’ geographic distributions may result from differences in physiological traits, such as the ability to withstand dry conditions (also known as ‘desiccation … Continue reading Phenotypic plasticity in desiccation physiology of geographically range restricted and broadly distributed fruit fly species

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community ecology

Invasive plants are less tolerant of drought, but recover faster from rewetting than native plants

Xue Zhang, Ayub M. O. Oduor, Yanjie Liu This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Plant invasions outside their native ranges pose serious environmental, economic, and human health impacts. Consequently, how the spread of invasive plants may change in the future has stimulated considerable interest, in particular in the context of ongoing climate change. Prolonged … Continue reading Invasive plants are less tolerant of drought, but recover faster from rewetting than native plants

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community ecology

Drought resistance and recovery of community traits in semiarid grasslands

Wentao Luo, Robert J. Griffin-Nolan, Lin Song, Niwu Te, Jiaqi Chen, Yuan Shi, Taofeek O. Muraina, Zhengwen Wang, Melinda D. Smith, Qiang Yu, Alan K. Knapp, Xingguo Han, Scott L. Collins This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Global climate change is expected to increase rainfall variability, potentially increasing the frequency of extreme droughts during … Continue reading Drought resistance and recovery of community traits in semiarid grasslands

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plant-animal interaction

Water stress reduces flower and seed production in wild mustard plants

Rebecca J. Höfer, Tina Lindner, Manfred Ayasse, Jonas Kuppler This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Climate change will lead to reduced precipitation, which can cause a water deficit in the soil, leading to water stress in plants. It is known that water stress in plants alters floral characteristics such as morphology, phenology or floral … Continue reading Water stress reduces flower and seed production in wild mustard plants

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plant physiological ecology

Tree plumbing system characteristics were not linked to their growth during drought

Chris M. Smith-Martin, Robert Muscarella, Roi Ankori-Karlinsky, Sylvain Delzon, Samuel L. Farrar, Melissa Salva-Sauri, Jill Thompson, Jess K. Zimmerman, María Uriarte This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Droughts are causing trees to grow less and die more in many forests worldwide. Some tree species are more affected by drought than others, but we do … Continue reading Tree plumbing system characteristics were not linked to their growth during drought

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