Pastures and Climate Extremes: Impacts of Cool Season Warming and Drought on the Productivity of Key Pasture Species in a Field Experiment

作者：Amber C. Churchill, Haiyang Zhang, Kathryn J. Fuller, Burhan Amiji, Ian C. Anderson, Craig V. M. Barton, Yolima Carrillo, Karen L. M. Catunda, Manjunatha H. Chandregowda, Chioma Igwenagu, Vinod Jacob, Gil Won Kim, Catriona A. Macdonald, Belinda E. Medlyn, Ben D. Moore, Elise Pendall, Jonathan M. Plett, Alison K. Post, Jeff R. Powell, David T. Tissue, Mark G. Tjoelker, Sally A. Power · 发表于：Frontiers in Plant Science · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3389/fpls.2022.836968 · 被引用次数：40 · 研究领域：Pasture and Agricultural Systems、Rangeland and Wildlife Management、Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology

Shifts in the timing, intensity and/or frequency of climate extremes, such as severe drought and heatwaves, can generate sustained shifts in ecosystem function with important ecological and economic impacts for rangelands and managed pastures. The Pastures and Climate Extremes experiment (PACE) in Southeast Australia was designed to investigate the impacts of a severe winter/spring drought (60% rainfall reduction) and, for a subset of species, a factorial combination of drought and elevated temperature (ambient +3°C) on pasture productivity. The experiment included nine common pasture and Australian rangeland species from three plant functional groups (C 3 grasses, C 4 grasses and legumes) planted in monoculture. Winter/spring drought resulted in productivity declines of 45% on average and up to 74% for the most affected species ( Digitaria eriantha ) during the 6-month treatment period, with eight of the nine species exhibiting significant yield reductions. Despite considerable variation in species’ sensitivity to drought, C 4 grasses were more strongly affected by this treatment than C 3 grasses or legumes. Warming also had negative effects on cool-season productivity, associated at least partially with exceedance of optimum growth temperatures in spring and indirect effects on soil water content. The combination of winter/spring drought and year-round warming resulted in the greatest yield reductions. We identified responses that were either additive ( Festuca ), or less-t...