Ecotype-specific improvement of nitrogen status in European grasses after drought combined with rewetting |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Disturbance Ecology, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Germany;2. Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, Bangladesh;3. Experimental Plant Ecology, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University, Germany;4. Biogeography, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Germany;1. Faculty of Biology, University of Salamanca, C. U. Miguel de Unamuno, E-37007 Salamanca, Spain;2. Department of Geography, University of Bergen, PB 7802, N-5020 Bergen, Norway;1. Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal;2. Ecosystem Physiology, University Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 54, 79110 Freiburg, Germany;3. Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany;1. Núcleo de Ciências Agrárias e Desenvolvimento Rural, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil;2. Núcleo de Ecologia de Insetos, Hexapoda, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil;3. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil;4. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil;1. School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa;2. Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe;3. Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Applied Sciences, National University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box AC 939 Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe;4. Forest Ecology Laboratory, Faculty of Applied Sciences, National University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box AC 939 Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe;1. Forest Ecology and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun 248006, Uttarakhand, India;2. Department of Botany, Govt. Degree College, Kathua, 184104, Jammu & Kashmir, India |
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| Abstract: | Drought stress and associated low soil moisture can decrease N status of forage plants by reducing nitrogen (N) uptake. Conversely, rainfall and associated favorable soil moisture can improve plant N status. Yet, it is unclear to which degree drought combined with rewetting can buffer negative effects of drought on N status of forage plants and their populations. Here, we compared shoot N status (N concentration, total N uptake and C/N ratio) of four temperate grass species. Particularly, we investigated ecotypes (populations) grown from seeds from four to six European provenances/species after a drought treatment combined with rewetting (10 day harvest delay) versus continuously watered conditions for control.The experimental combination of drought and rewetting significantly increased shoot N concentration (+96%), N uptake (+31%); and decreased C/N ratio (−46%), biomass production (−29%) and C concentration (−1.4%) compared to control. Shoot N status was found to be different between target grass species and also within their populations under drought combined with rewetting treatment. Presumably drought-adapted populations did not perform better than populations from moist sites indicating no evidence of local adaptation.The drought combined with rewetting event could buffer the negative effects of drought. Shoot N status of grasses after drought and rewetting even exceeded control plants. This surprising finding can potentially be explained by higher N uptake, lack of growth dilution effects or delayed plant maturation. Furthermore, within-species shoot N status responses to drought combined with rewetting event were ecotype-specific, hinting at diverse responses of different population. For rangeland management, we recommend that if a drought event occurs during the growing season, harvesting should be delayed beyond a following rain event. |
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| Keywords: | Climate change adaptation Drying and rewetting Extreme weather event Grassland management Precipitation manipulation experiment Plant eco-physiology |
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