Small rainfall changes drive substantial changes in plant coexistence

Although precipitation patterns have long been known to shape plant distributions(1), the effect of changing climate on the interactions of species and therefore community composition is far less understood(2,3). Here, we explored how changes in precipitation alter competitive dynamics via direct effects on individual species, as well as by the changing strength of competitive interactions between species, using an annual grassland community in California. We grew plants under ambient and reduced precipitation in the field to parameterize a competition model(4) with which we quantified the stabilizing niche and fitness differences that determine species coexistence in each rainfall regime. We show that reduced precipitation had little direct effect on species grown alone, but it qualitatively shifted predicted competitive outcomes for 10 of 15 species pairs. In addition, species pairs that were functionally more similar were less likely to experience altered outcomes, indicating that functionally diverse communities may be most threatened by changing interactions. Our results highlight how important it is to account for changes to species interactions when predicting species and community response to global change.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of changing precipitation on competitive dynamics between species in a California grassland community. The results demonstrate that reduced precipitation alters the outcome of species competition, particularly for functionally diverse communities. Thus, considering changes in species interactions is crucial when predicting species and community responses to global change.