Belowground bud bank and its relationship with aboveground vegetation under watering and nitrogen addition in temperate semiarid steppe

Abstract

In temperate perennial grasslands, the recruitment/regeneration of aboveground vegetation predominantly relies on belowground bud bank. Thus, understanding how belowground bud bank density and composition respond to global changes is essential to explain and predict plant community dynamics and ecosystem functions under global change context. The belowground bud bank and aboveground vegetation under the simulated precipitation changes and nitrogen deposition (by watering and N addition) were investigated in the temperate semiarid steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. N addition decreased total bud density but facilitated aboveground productivity, however, watering itself and its combination with N addition had little influence on total bud density. Different bud bank types showed specific responses to watering and N addition, especially, buds of grasses and forbs responded in an opposite way. Overall, shoot abundance were positively related to bud density, and showed similar responses with those of bud banks, especially for forbs, which are more sensitive to global changes. Our results imply that the changes in belowground bud bank might affect subsequent responses of plant communities to precipitation change and/or nitrogen deposition under future global change scenarios.