Functional traits of graminoids in semi‐arid steppes: a test of grazing histories

Abstract

Summary: Understanding variability in ecosystem response to grazing is essential for improving management. Recent efforts have focused on the role of plant functional traits but do not identify factors influencing trait development. As traits are legacies of historical selective pressures, they may indicate the importance of a plant community's evolutionary history of grazing. We compared grazing‐resistance traits of graminoids collected in the Patagonian steppe of Argentina, presumed to have a long evolutionary history of grazing, and the sagebrush steppe of the north‐western USA, known to have a short grazing history. The purpose of this comparison was to test the influence of grazing history and aridity on resistance traits, and to generate predictions about the vulnerability of these ecosystems to grazing impacts. We measured both morphology and leaf chemical composition on common species from an arid and a semi‐arid site in each region, then performed a principal components analysis on the species‐by‐traits matrix. The first axis of the ordination was correlated with measures of forage quality such as leaf tensile strength, fibre and nitrogen content, while the second axis was correlated with plant stature. The dominant species from the drier Patagonia site scored significantly lower on the first axis (lower forage quality) than dominants from the sagebrush steppe. Plants from the wetter Patagonia site were intermediate in forage quality. Sagebrush steppe species scored significantly higher on the second axis (taller) but this difference was not significant when we considered only dominant species. The intercontinental differences in plant traits are consistent with evidence indicating a longer evolutionary history of grazing in Patagonia. Differences in traits between the dry and wet sites in Patagonia are consistent with the hypothesis that aridity promotes grazing resistance, although trait contrasts between the drier and wetter sagebrush sites were not significant. Differences in soil texture, which may influence nitrogen availability, offer an alternative explanation for differences in forage quality between Patagonia and sagebrush steppe, and between the drier and wetter sites within Patagonia. Synthesis and applications. Our comparison of plant traits suggests that interactions between evolutionary history of grazing and abiotic covariates, especially soil texture, have selected for low forage quality in Patagonia relative to sagebrush steppe. This contrast in grazing‐resistance traits leads to the prediction that livestock grazing will have less impact on upland plant communities in Patagonian steppe compared with the sagebrush steppe of the USA, particularly if low nitrogen content limits offtake. Plant functional traits represent an easily quantified link between evolutionary grazing history and ecosystem responses to contemporary management.