Consequences of more extreme precipitation regimes interacting with land use practices for productivity and diversity of grassland in Central Europe

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anke Jentsch
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: from 2009 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 134512616

• Final Report Year: 2015

Final Report Abstract

Greater intra-annual rainfall variability is predicted for many regions on earth. Within this project, we analyzed the effects of four different precipitation regimes varying in distribution (frequency) and seasonality interacting with four different land use regimes varying in frequency and magnitude on productivity and diversity of natural grassland communities in Central Europe. We addressed above and below ground biomass production and protein content of selected species and monitored relative species abundance and diversity of plant communities. More variability in precipitation regimes proved to have significant effects on biomass production, feed value and plant species interactions.

Publications

• (2012): Increased rainfall variability reduces biomass and forage quality of temperate grassland largely independent of mowing frequency. Agriculture, Ecosystems and the Environment 148: 1-10
  Walter J, Grant K, Beierkuhnlein C, Kreyling J, Weber M, Jentsch A
  
• (2013): Combined effects of multifactor climate change and land-use on decomposition in temperate grassland. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 60: 10-18
  Walter J, Hein R, Beierkuhnlein C, Hammerl V, Jentsch A, Schädler M, Schuerings J, Kreyling J
  
• (2014): Water stress due to increased intra-annual precipitation variability reduced forage yield but raised forage quality of a temperate grassland. Agriculture, Ecosystems and the Environment 186: 11-22
  Grant K, Kreyling J, Dienstbach LF, Beierkuhnlein C, Jentsch A
  
• Extreme weather events and plant-plant interactions: Shifts between competition and facilitation among grassland species in the face of drought and heavy rainfall. Ecological Research September 2014, Volume 29, Issue 5, pp 991–1001
  Grant K, Kreyling J, Beierkuhnlein C, Heilmeier S, Jentsch A