Precipitation manipulation experiments - challenges and recommendations for the future

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 15; no. 8; pp. 899 - 911
• Main Authors: Beier, Claus, Beierkuhnlein, Carl, Wohlgemuth, Thomas, Penuelas, Josep, Emmett, Bridget, Körner, Christian, de Boeck, Hans, Christensen, Jens Hesselbjerg, Leuzinger, Sebastian, Janssens, Ivan A., Hansen, Karin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2012; Blackwell
• Subjects: Acclimatization; Adaptation, Biological; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Climate Change; Climatic conditions; Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; Earth, ocean, space; Ecosystem; Ecosystem models; Ecosystem resilience; Ecosystems; Environmental regulations; Exact sciences and technology; experimental design; External geophysics; Forecasting; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Macroecology; manipulative experiments; Meteorology; Plant communities; Plant Development; Precipitation; precipitation change; precipitation patterns; precipitation scenarios; Rain; Research - trends; Seasonal variations; Soil; Terrestrial ecosystems; Dynamical climatology; Climate change; Precipitation; precipitation patterns; Experimental design; manipulative experiments; Manipulation; Experimental study; precipitation change; precipitation scenarios

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 experi...