LTREB: Fourteen years of simulated climate change in ancient limestone grassland: linking the responses of genotypes, species, and ecosystems

Syracuse University, Syracuse NY

Investigators

Abstract

In this project, vegetation scientists seek to understand the long-term impacts of climate change on grassland ecosystems. Through multi-decadal simulation of warmed soil and air temperatures, coupled with summer drought or elevated rainfall, researchers are identifying how the characteristics of different plant species allow predictions of how communities and ecosystem processes will shift in coming decades. This project also extends research on climate change impacts to the genetic level, where recent evidence indicates that some ecosystems may be resistant to climate change because some species have a large local gene pool allowing rapid adaptation to new environments. Temperate grasslands are a key contributor to global productivity and their response to global climate change is of critical importance to the future of human welfare. Existing studies from fertile grasslands have documented rapid vegetation shifts with simulated warming, but there is reason to believe that certain grasslands - those of less fertile soils, containing slower-growing species that are more diverse locally - may be more resistant to rapid climate change. Because these systems account for a large majority of pasture and rangelands throughout the world, their recalcitrance to climate shifts will have significant ramifications for the future of food and fiber production.