Precipitation manipulation experiments: challenges and recommendations for the future

Beier, Claus; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Wohlgemuth, Thomas; Penuelas, Josep; Emmett, Bridget ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-4389; Körner, Christian; de Boeck, Hans; Christensen, Jens Hesselbjerg; Leuzinger, Sebastian; Janssens, Ivan A.; Hansen, Karin. 2012 Precipitation manipulation experiments: challenges and recommendations for the future. Ecology Letters, 15 (8). 899-911. 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01793.x

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Abstract/Summary

Climatic changes, including altered precipitation regimes, will affect key ecosystem processes, such as plant productivity and biodiversity for many terrestrial ecosystems. Past and ongoing precipitation experiments have been conducted to quantify these potential changes. An analysis of these experiments indicates that they have provided important information on how water regulates ecosystem processes. However, they do not adequately represent global biomes nor forecasted precipitation scenarios and their potential contribution to advance our understanding of ecosystem responses to precipitation changes is therefore limited, as is their potential value for the development and testing of ecosystem models. This highlights the need for new precipitation experiments in biomes and ambient climatic conditions hitherto poorly studied applying relevant complex scenarios including changes in precipitation frequency and amplitude, seasonality, extremity and interactions with other global change drivers. A systematic and holistic approach to investigate how soil and plant community characteristics change with altered precipitation regimes and the consequent effects on ecosystem processes and functioning within these experiments will greatly increase their value to the climate change and ecosystem research communities. Experiments should specifically test how changes in precipitation leading to exceedance of biological thresholds affect ecosystem resilience and acclimation.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01793.x
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biogeochemistry > BGC Topic 1 - Monitoring and Interpretation of Biogeochemical and Climate Changes > BGC - 1.3 - Quantify & attribute changes in biogeochemiical cycles ...
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Emmett
ISSN:	1461-023X
Additional Keywords:	Climate change, experimental design, manipulative experiments, precipitation change, precipitation patterns, precipitation scenarios
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Agriculture and Soil Science Biology and Microbiology
Date made live:	08 Jan 2013 14:01 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20916

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