Effects of water addition on below- and above-ground carbon processes across a montane elevational gradient

Abstract

Local temperature increases and more frequent extreme rainfall events are predicted effects of climate change at high latitudes (IPCC 2007). Precipitation regimes are also shifting, but science is less able to predict these patterns (IPCC 2007). Water balance is critical as it ultimately drives primary production. Yet, there is a lack of understanding about the relative importance of how water influences carbon dynamics in plant communities (Hodkinson et al. 1999, Niu et al. 2007). To be able to use species- specific responses to anticipate the impacts of climate change in montane regions, it is necessary to know how both species and entire communities respond to climate change. We tested the hypothesis that water is a limiting factor for both decomposition of organic matter and for net carbon assimilation in montane and subalpine plant communities. For this study increased water supply resulted in only biologically significant increase in community carbon uptake as predicted and failed to affect soil respiration at the community level. A slight treatment effect of increased below-ground respiration in the watered plots was also shown, especially over time and for the two higher elevations. The ability of communities to act as carbon sinks depends in part on water availability. Thus, it is important that further studies explore carbon dynamics and 1 effects of moisture on plant communities for anticipating the impacts of changing precipitation regimes as an outcome of climate disruption.

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References (19)

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