The response of photosynthetic rate of dominant species to extreme drought in Inner Mongolia grasslands

Abstract Estimating the effects of extreme drought on the photosynthetic rates (Pn) of dominant plant species is crucial for understanding the mechanisms driving the impacts of extreme drought on ecosystem functioning. Extreme drought may result from either reduced rainfall amounts or decreased rainfall frequency, and the impacts of different patterns of extreme drought may vary greatly. In addition, different grasslands likely appeared varied sensitivity to different extreme drought patterns. However, there have been no reports on the effects of different extreme drought patterns on dominant species Pn in different grassland types. Here, we conducted multi-year extreme drought simulation experiments (reducing each rainfall event by 66% during growing season, CHR vs. completely excluding rainfall during a shorter portion of growing season, INT) in two different grasslands (desert grassland vs. typical grassland) from 2014. The Pn of two dominant species in each grassland were measured in July and August 2017. Both CHR and INT significantly decreased dominant species Pn, with INT causing more negative impacts on Pn regardless of grassland types. The response ratios of Pn in desert grassland were generally higher than that of typical grassland, especially for Leymus chinensis in CHR. These results indicate that decreased rainfall frequency had a more negative effect on Pn compared to reduced rainfall amount, with grassland types changing the magnitude, but not the direction, of the effects of extreme drought patterns. These findings highlight the importance of considering extreme drought patterns and grassland types in ecosystem management in the face of future extreme droughts.