• Energy Research

Abstract Maternal effects (i.e. trans‐generational plasticity) and soil legacies generated by drought and plant diversity can affect plant performance and alter nutrient cycling and plant community dynamics. However, the relative importance and combined effects of these factors on plant growth dynamics remain poorly understood. We used soil and seeds from an existing plant diversity and drought manipulation field experiment in temperate grassland to test maternal, soil drought and diversity legacy effects, and their interactions, on offspring plant performance of two grassland species (Alopecurus pratensis and Holcus lanatus) under contrasting glasshouse conditions. Our results showed that drought soil legacy effects eclipsed maternal effects on plant biomass. Drought soil legacy effects were attributed to changes in both abiotic (i.e. nutrient availability) and biotic soil properties (i.e. microbial carbon and enzyme activity), as well as plant root and shoot atom 15N excess. Further, plant tissue nutrient concentrations and soil microbial C:N responses to drought legacies varied between the two plant species and soils from high and low plant diversity treatments. However, these diversity effects did not affect plant root or shoot biomass. These findings demonstrate that while maternal effects resulting from drought occur in grasslands, their impacts on plant performance are likely minor relative to drought legacy effects on soil abiotic and biotic properties. This suggests that soil drought legacy effects could become increasingly important drivers of plant community dynamics and ecosystem functioning as extreme weather events become more frequent and intense with climate change. A plain language summary is available for this article.

This file contains data in De Long et al. 2019 “Drought soil legacy overrides maternal effects on plant growth”. These data are the field data collected on soil moisture.

This file contains data in De Long et al. 2019 “Drought soil legacy overrides maternal effects on plant growth”. These data are the seed data collected on the two target species, Alopecurus pratensis and Holcus lanatus.

Grazing affects grasslands worldwide. However, the global patterns and general mechanisms of how grazing affects plant reproductive traits are poorly understood, especially in the context of different climates and grazing duration. We conducted a meta-analysis of 114 independent grazing studies worldwide that measured plant reproductive traits in grasslands. The results showed that the number of tillers of plant increased under grazing. Grazing did not affect the number of reproductive branches of forbs, but significantly reduced the number of reproductive branches of grasses. Grazing increased the number of vegetative branches of all plants and reduced the proportion of reproductive branches. Grazing significantly reduced the number of flowers in forbs. Seed yield in the two plant functional groups was reduced compared with no-grazing. Under grazing, the sexual reproduction of grasses decreased much more substantially than that of forbs. This may be due to biomass allocation pattern of grasses under grazing (i.e., belowground versus aboveground). Under grazing, plants tended to adopt rapid, low-input asexual reproduction rather than long-term, high-risk sexual reproduction. This study represents the first large-scale evaluation of plant reproductive trait responses under grazing and demonstrates that grazing inhibits sexual reproduction and promotes asexual reproduction. The effect of grazing on plant sexual reproduction was influenced by grazing intensity, mean annual precipitation, and grazing duration. These results will assist in the development of sustainable grazing management strategies to improve the balance between human welfare and grassland ecosystem health.

This file contains data in De Long et al. 2019 “Drought soil legacy overrides maternal effects on plant growth”. These data are the field data collected on plant diversity and the percentage cover of the two target species, Alopecurus pratensis and Holcus lanatus.

This dataset contains nitrate and ammonium concentrations, nitrification and mineralisation rates, particle size and microbial biomass data from soils taken from an experiment based at Winklebury Hill, UK. The experiment used seeds and plug plants to create different plant communities on the bare chalk on Winklebury Hill and tested the resulting carbon and nutrient cycling rates and compared these to the characteristics of different plant functional groups. The experiment ran from 2013 to 2016 and this dataset contains data from 2013 only. This experiment was part of the Wessex BESS project, a six-year (2011-2017) project aimed at understanding how biodiversity underpins the ecosystem functions and services that landscapes provide. KCl extractable N and potential mineralisation were measured using an autoanalyser, running 5% analytical replicates, recalibration (at 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 ppm) and blanks every 20 samples. Extracts were adjusted for soil moisture. Standardised protocols were followed in all cases, details of which can be found in the supporting documentation.

AbstractProcess‐based models describing biogeochemical cycling are crucial tools to understanding long‐term nutrient dynamics, especially in the context of perturbations, such as climate and land‐use change. Such models must effectively synthesize ecological processes and properties. For example, in terrestrial ecosystems, plants are the primary source of bioavailable carbon, but turnover rates of essential nutrients are contingent on interactions between plants and soil biota. Yet, biogeochemical models have traditionally considered plant and soil communities in broad terms. The next generation of models must consider how shifts in their diversity and composition affect ecosystem processes.One promising approach to synthesize plant and soil biodiversity and their interactions into models is to consider their diversity from a functional trait perspective. Plant traits, which include heritable chemical, physical, morphological and phenological characteristics, are increasingly being used to predict ecosystem processes at a range of scales, and to interpret biodiversity–ecosystem functional relationships. There is also emerging evidence that the traits of soil microbial and faunal communities can be correlated with ecosystem functions such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and greenhouse gas production.Here, we draw on recent advances in measuring and using traits of different biota to predict ecosystem processes, and provide a new perspective as to how biotic traits can be integrated into biogeochemical models. We first describe an explicit trait‐based model framework that operates at small scales and uses direct measurements of ecosystem properties; second, an integrated approach that operates at medium scales and includes interactions between biogeochemical cycling and soil food webs; and third, an implicit trait‐based model framework that associates soil microbial and faunal functional groups with plant functional groups, and operates at the Earth‐system level. In each of these models, we identify opportunities for inclusion of traits from all three groups to reduce model uncertainty and improve understanding of biogeochemical cycles.These model frameworks will generate improved predictive capacity of how changes in biodiversity regulate biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. Further, they will assist in developing a new generation of process‐based models that include plant, microbial, and faunal traits and facilitate dialogue between empirical researchers and modellers.

This dataset contains greenhouse gas flux data and vegetation survey data from an experiment based at Parsonage Down, UK. The vegetation survey comprises total species percentage cover and species richness data from four 50 cm by 50 cm quadrats. The greenhouse gas flux data comprises net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange, photosynthesis and respiration data measured with an Infra-red Gas Analyser (IRGA); methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide data measured using gas chromatography; and nitrate and ammonium from soil samples extracted with potassium chloride. The experiment investigated the effect of different plant groups on soil carbon stores and nutrient cycling, by using a mixture of hand weeding and herbicide spot spraying to create different plant communities on the species rich grassland at Parsonage Down. The resulting carbon and nutrient cycling rates were compared to the characteristics of the plant groups. The experiment ran from 2013 to 2015 and this dataset contains data from 2014 only. This experiment was part of the Wessex BESS project, a six-year (2011-2017) project aimed at understanding how biodiversity underpins the ecosystem functions and services that landscapes provide. For greenhouse gas exchange flux, a time series correlation was calculated and low correlations removed (<70%). Outliers were also removed at the beginning and end of sample where appropriate. Calibrations at two levels were done for methane gas flux (at 14, and 33 ppm), carbon dioxide gas flux (at 500 and 1000 ppm) and nitrous oxide gas flux (at 200 and 370 ppm). Standardised protocols were followed in all cases, details of which can be found in the supporting documentation.

This file contains data in De Long et al. 2019 “Drought soil legacy overrides maternal effects on plant growth”. These data are the field data collected from the glasshouse on the two target species, Alopecurus pratensis and Holcus lanatus and their soil properties.