Lagging behind: have we overlooked previous‐year rainfall effects in annual grasslands?

Abstract

SummaryRainfall is a key determinant of production and composition in arid and semi‐arid systems. Long‐term studies relating composition and water availability primarily focus on current‐year precipitation patterns, though mounting evidence highlights the importance of previous‐year rainfall particularly in grasslands dominated by perennial species. The extent to which lagged precipitation effects occur in annual grasslands, however, remains largely unexplored.We pair a long‐term study with two manipulative experiments to identify patterns and mechanisms of lagged precipitation effects in annual grasslands. The long‐term study captured variation in functional group (exotic annual forbs and grasses) abundance and precipitation across 8 years at three northern California grassland sites. We then tested whether lagged rainfall effects were created through seed production and litter (residual dry matter, RDM) by manipulating rainfall and litter, respectively.Rainfall from the previous‐year growing season (both seasonal and total rainfall) shifted functional group abundance. High lagged rainfall was associated with increased grass and decreased forb abundance the following year. Current‐year seasonal rainfall also influenced species composition, with winter rain increasing forb and decreasing grass abundance. Lagged precipitation effects were generally stronger for forbs than for grasses. Our experimental studies provided evidence for two mechanisms that contributed to lagged effects in annual grasslands. Higher rainfall increased seed production for grasses, which translated to more germinable seed the following year. Higher rainfall also increased biomass production and RDM, which benefited grasses and reduced forb abundance.Synthesis. Our results highlight the importance of previous‐year precipitation in structuring annual community composition and suggest two important biotic pathways, seed rain and RDM, that regulate lagged community responses to rainfall. Incorporating lagged effects into models of grassland diversity and productivity could improve predictions of climate change impacts in annual grasslands.