Effects of experimental water addition depend on grassland community characteristics

Plant community biomass and composition on low-productivity soils, such as serpentine, may be more resistant to climate change because they host stress-tolerant species that may respond slowly to change. These communities also host a number of endemic taxa that are of special interest because of their narrow distributions. In a 3-year study, we experimentally tested the response of serpentine and non-serpentine communities to water addition in spring. We also compared the responses of endemics and generalists to water addition, with and without biomass (competitor) removal. In the non-serpentine grassland, peak biomass was significantly greater in the water addition plots compared with control plots, but this effect depended on the year. In the serpentine grassland, there was no effect of water addition on biomass. Survival, biomass, growth rates, and seed production of soil endemics and generalists were all significantly reduced by competition, but were unaffected by water addition. Overall, endemics tended to perform better in serpentine soil and generalists in non-serpentine soil, suggesting that soil is an important factor for the establishment and survival of endemics and generalists. For endemics, the effect of biomass removal was stronger on non-serpentine soil, but for generalists this effect was similar on both soils, indicating that competition can be important in low-resource habitats. In conclusion, our results suggest that low-fertility plant communities may be slow to respond to changes in precipitation compared to communities on more fertile soil.