Published

Site: Konza Prairie LTER

Credit: Barb Van Slyke

Climate change forecasts for mesic grasslands include increased climate variability and extremes. Experimental climate manipulations at Konza Prairie reveal a spectrum of responses to climate change, ranging from a lack of resistance to extreme drought, to great resilience to increased precipitation and heat wave variability. Although community composition changes with climate extremes, tallgrass prairie resilience is promoted by compensatory responses by dominant plant species.

For Further Reading:
  • Hoover DL, et al. 2014. Resistance and resilience of a grassland ecosystem to climate extremes. Ecology. doi: 10.1890/13-2186.1
  • Knapp AK, et al. 2018. A reality check for climate change experiments: Do they reflect the real world? Ecology. doi: 10.1002/ecy.2474
For Further Info:
  • Jesse Nippert
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