The Seasonal Contribution of C"3 and C"4 Plant Species to Primary Production in a Mixed Prairie

Ecology ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 1304-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Ode ◽  
Larry L. Tieszen ◽  
Juan Carlos Lerman
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Mixed Prairie

Effect of Herbivory and Plant Species Replacement on Primary Production

2000 ◽  
Vol 155 (6) ◽  
pp. 735-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire de Mazancourt ◽  
Michel Loreau
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Replacement

scholarly journals Modeling Global and Regional Net Primary Production under Elevated Atmospheric CO2: On a Potential Source of Uncertainty

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustapha El Maayar ◽  
Navin Ramankutty ◽  
Christopher J. Kucharik
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Elevated Co2 ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Elevated Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Photosynthetic Downregulation

Abstract Terrestrial ecosystem models are built, among several reasons, to explore how the Earth’s biosphere responds to climate change and to the projected continual increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration. Many of these models adopt the Farquhar et al. approach, in which leaf carbon assimilation of C3 plants is regulated by two limitations depending on the rate of Rubisco activity and ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate regeneration (RuBP). This approach was expanded upon by others to include a third limitation that expresses the occurrence, in some plant species, of a photosynthetic downregulation under high concentrations of ambient CO2. Several ecosystem models, however, constrain leaf photosynthesis using only two limitations according to the original formulation of Farquhar et al. and thus neglect the limitation that represents the downregulation of photosynthesis under elevated atmospheric CO2. In this study, the authors first reviewed the effect of elevated CO2 on photosynthesis of C3 plants, which illustrated that short-term observations are likely to considerably underestimate the number of plant species that exhibit a photosynthetic downregulation. Several recent long-term field observations have shown that such downregulation starts to be effective only after several seasons/years of plant exposure to elevated CO2. Second, an ecosystem model was used to illustrate that neglecting the photosynthetic downregulation may significantly bias predictions of net primary production of the middle and high latitudes under high atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Based on both review of field observations and results of simulations, the authors conclude that a more appropriate representation of plant physiology and choice of plant functional types may be required in ecosystem models in order to accurately simulate plant responses to changing environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Climate change and primary production: Forty years in a bunchgrass prairie

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243496
Author(s):  
Gary E. Belovsky ◽  
Jennifer B. Slade
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Plant Species Composition ◽  
Plant Senescence ◽  
Geographical Scale

Over the past 109 years, a Montana intermountain bunchgrass prairie annually became warmer (0.7°C) and drier (27%). The temperature and precipitation trends continued since 1978, as we studied nitrogen availability, annual aboveground primary production (ANPP), plant phenology and species composition. Given the annual increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation, ANPP might be expected to decline; however, it increased by 110%, as the period of greatest production (late-May–June) became wetter and cooler, counter to the annual pattern, and this was strongest at lower elevations. Grass production increased by 251%, while dicot production declined by 65%, which increased grass relative abundance by 54%. Summer temperatures increased 12.5% which increased plant senescence by 119% and decreased fall plant regrowth by 68%. More intense summer senescence changed plant species composition in favor of more drought tolerant species. The greater ANPP and summer senescence may increase susceptibility for fire, but fire tolerance of the plant species composition did not change. Invasive plant species increased 108% over the study with annual grasses accounting for >50% of this increase, which further increased summer plant senescence. Therefore, seasonal climate changes at a smaller geographical scale (local), rather than average annual climate changes over a larger geographical scale (regional), may better reflect plant community responses, and this makes ecological forecasting of climate change more difficult.

scholarly journals Shifting plant species composition in response to climate change stabilizes grassland primary production

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (16) ◽  
pp. 4051-4056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiying Liu ◽  
Zhaorong Mi ◽  
Li Lin ◽  
Yonghui Wang ◽  
Zhenhua Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plant Species Composition ◽  
Experimental Warming ◽  
Changing Climate

The structure and function of alpine grassland ecosystems, including their extensive soil carbon stocks, are largely shaped by temperature. The Tibetan Plateau in particular has experienced significant warming over the past 50 y, and this warming trend is projected to intensify in the future. Such climate change will likely alter plant species composition and net primary production (NPP). Here we combined 32 y of observations and monitoring with a manipulative experiment of temperature and precipitation to explore the effects of changing climate on plant community structure and ecosystem function. First, long-term climate warming from 1983 to 2014, which occurred without systematic changes in precipitation, led to higher grass abundance and lower sedge abundance, but did not affect aboveground NPP. Second, an experimental warming experiment conducted over 4 y had no effects on any aspect of NPP, whereas drought manipulation (reducing precipitation by 50%), shifted NPP allocation belowground without affecting total NPP. Third, both experimental warming and drought treatments, supported by a meta-analysis at nine sites across the plateau, increased grass abundance at the expense of biomass of sedges and forbs. This shift in functional group composition led to deeper root systems, which may have enabled plant communities to acquire more water and thus stabilize ecosystem primary production even with a changing climate. Overall, our study demonstrates that shifting plant species composition in response to climate change may have stabilized primary production in this high-elevation ecosystem, but it also caused a shift from aboveground to belowground productivity.

Above-ground net primary production of plains rough fescue [Festuca hallii (Vasey) Piper] after a single defoliation on five landform elements

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pantel ◽  
J. T. Romo ◽  
Y. Bai
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
First Year ◽  
Production Potential ◽  
Festuca Hallii ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Mixed Prairie ◽  
Rough Fescue

Pantel, A., Romo, J. T. and Bai, Y. 2011. Above-ground net primary production of plains rough fescue [ Festuca hallii (Vasey) Piper] after a single defoliation on five landform elements. Can. J. Plant Sci. 91: 689–696. Above-ground net primary production (ANPP) was determined for plains rough fescue [Festuca hallii (Vasey) Piper] following a single defoliation to 7.5 cm stubble height on five landform elements in the Northern Mixed Prairie. The landform elements included north aspect-concave slopes, north aspect-convex slopes, south aspect-concave slopes, south aspect-convex slopes, and level uplands. Above-ground net primary production was determined for 2 yr after defoliating plants in May through November. Above-ground net primary production after defoliation was not dependent on landform elements in the first (P=0.23) and second years (P=0.22) after defoliation. In the first year after June through September defoliation, ANPP was reduced 29 to 41% (P <0.01), whereas May, October, or November defoliation had no significant effect on ANPP. Above-ground net primary production did not vary significantly (P=0.61) among months of defoliation in the second year after defoliation. Less ANPP in the first year after June through September defoliation indicates the need for ≥1 yr of deferred use to allow plants to regain their production potential. Unaffected ANPP after May, October, or November defoliation suggests plains rough fescue can be grazed annually. Recuperation of ANPP after defoliation depends on the month of the year in which plains rough fescue is defoliated, but not on landform elements in the Northern Mixed Prairie.

Worth the risk? Introduction of legumes can cause more harm than good: an Australian perspective

2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Paynter ◽  
S. M. Csurhes ◽  
T. A. Heard ◽  
J. Ireson ◽  
M. H. Julien ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Introduced Species ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Recent Trend ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Significant Proportion

Weeds are serious threats to Australia's primary production and biodiversity conservation. For example, a recent Australia Bureau of Statistics survey found that 47% of farmers across Australia have a significant weed problem. A literature review revealed that legumes represent a significant proportion of the national weed problem and most serious Australian legume weeds are exotic thicket-forming species that were deliberately introduced for their perceived beneficial properties, such as for shade and fodder, or even quite trivial reasons, such as garden ornamentals. The low economic value of the rangelands most of these species infest, compared with control costs, hinders chemical and mechanical control of these weeds, such that biological control, which takes time, is expensive to implement and has no guarantee of success, may represent the only economically viable alternative to abandoning vast tracts of land. We argue that, because the behaviour of an introduced species in a novel environment is so hard to forecast, better predictive techniques should be developed prior to further introductions of plant species into novel environments. We also discuss the potential of legumes currently being promoted in Australia to become weeds and suggest the recent trend of exporting Australian Acacia spp. to semiarid regions of Africa risks history repeating itself and the development of new weed problems that mirror those posed by Australian Acacia spp. in southern Africa.

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