Grasslands in Asia and North America differ in their responses to drought, according to a new paper in the journal Nature led by faculty at Colorado State University.
Grasslands in Asia and North America differ in their responses to drought, according to a new paper in the journal Nature led by faculty at Colorado State University. The findings show that differences in the dominant grasses and lower species diversity in the Eurasian Steppe grasslands may make it more vulnerable to drought than the North American Great Plains.
The findings have broad implications for land management practices on both continents and provide a valuable comparison point that was not previously available when addressing climate change.
The work at CSU was led by Professors Melinda Smith and University Distinguished Professor Alan Knapp in the Department of Biology. Smith said the multi-year project was built through ongoing collaboration with researchers in China, including first author and Smith’s former postdoctoral researcher at CSU, Qiang Yu. Together, the team established six sites on each continent and imposed extreme drought conditions over a four-year period. They found the Eurasian grasslands saw a 43% reduction in annual productivity – plant growth each year – compared to just a 25% reduction in North America under the same conditions.
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Photo Credit: Colorado State University College of Natural Sciences
