Biochemical composition changes can be linked to the tolerance of four grassland species under more persistent precipitation regimes

作者：Lin Zi, Simon Reynaert, Ivan Nijs, Hans J. De Boeck, Erik Verbruggen, Gerrit T.S. Beemster, Han Asard, Hamada AbdElgawad · 发表于：Physiologia Plantarum · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1111/ppl.14083 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics、Plant responses to elevated CO2、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Climate models suggest that the persistence of summer precipitation regimes (PRs) is on the rise, characterized by both longer dry and longer wet durations. These PR changes may alter plant biochemical composition and thereby their economic and ecological characteristics. However, impacts of PR persistence have primarily been studied at the community level, largely ignoring the biochemistry of individual species. Here, we analyzed biochemical components of four grassland species with varying sensitivity to PR persistence (Holcus lanatus, Phleum pratense, Lychnis flos-cuculi, Plantago lanceolata) along a range of increasingly persistent PRs (longer consecutive dry and wet periods) in a mesocosm experiment. The more persistent PRs decreased nonstructural sugars, whereas they increased lignin in all species, possibly reducing plant quality. The most sensitive species Lychnis seemed less capable of altering its biochemical composition in response to altered PRs, which may partly explain its higher sensitivity. The more tolerant species may have a more robust and dynamic biochemical network, which buffers the effects of changes in individual biochemical components on biomass. We conclude that the biochemical composition changes are important determinants for plant performance under increasingly persistent precipitation regimes.