Drought stress ecophysiology of shrub and grass functional groups on opposing slope aspects of a temperate grassland valley

Abstract

Plant functional groups with contrasting growth strategies co-occur in semiarid ecosystems. In the northern Great Plains, woody shrubs and grasses interact competitively, with shrubs prevalent on mesic hillslopes. To understand topographic influences on physiological drought acclimation, we measured seasonal photosynthetic water use in C3 shrubs ( Artemisia cana Pursh and Rhus trilobata Nutt.) and grasses ( Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. and Stipa viridula Trin.) on north- and south-facing slopes. Relationships between abiotic controls and photosynthesis were similar on both aspects, indicating an absence of long-term photosynthetic acclimation to xeric, south-facing conditions. Acclimatory differences were observed between functional groups. Soil moisture depletion lowered intercellular:atmospheric CO2 ratio (Ci/Ca) and increased intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi = Amax/gs) in shrubs, but not grasses. Consequently, between-slope differences in net photosynthesis (Amax) and stomatal conductance (gs) occurred only in shrubs, with lower values on the south-facing slope. Shrubs also exhibited between-slope differences in the photochemical reflectance index, suggesting drought-related photoprotection. The deuterium:hydrogen ratios of stem water showed that deep water use facilitated late summer growth in shrubs. Consistent with plant distribution, cumulative water use and photosynthesis were higher in shrubs than in grasses on the north-facing slope, but higher in grasses than in shrubs on the south-facing slope. This shows that topographic effects on leaf photosynthetic gas exchange are mediated by physiological acclimation strategy and water source use.