Open AccessVegetation resistance and resilience to a decade‐long dry period in the temperate grasslands in China
Author(s) -
Liang Minqi,
Cao Ruochen,
Di Kai,
Han Daorui,
Hu Zhongmin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.7866
Subject(s) - deserts and xeric shrublands , ecosystem , resistance (ecology) , temperate climate , resilience (materials science) , climate change , vegetation (pathology) , grassland , psychological resilience , ecology , environmental science , geography , dry zone , precipitation , biology , agronomy , habitat , medicine , psychology , physics , pathology , meteorology , psychotherapist , thermodynamics
Abstract The duration of climate anomalies has been increasing across the globe, leading to ecosystem function loss. Thus, we need to understand the responses of the ecosystem to long‐term climate anomalies. It remains unclear how ecosystem resistance and resilience respond to long‐term climate anomalies, for example, continuous dry years at a regional scale. Taking the opportunity of a 13‐year dry period in the temperate grasslands in northern China, we quantified the resistance and resilience of the grassland in response to this periodic dry period. We found vegetation resistance to the dry period increased with mean annual precipitation (MAP), while resilience increased at first until at MAP of 250 mm and then decreased slightly. No trade‐off between resistance and resilience was detected when MAP < 250 mm. Our results highlight that xeric ecosystems are most vulnerable to the long‐term dry period. Given expected increases in drought severity and duration in the coming decades, our findings may be helpful to identify vulnerable ecosystems in the world for the purpose of adaptation.