Abstract
Abstract Climate change will increase uncertainty in restoration outcomes due to greater water stress and other abiotic filters that limit plant survival. Drought‐related plant functional traits can help species withstand filters in a semi‐arid environment. Our objective was to provide guidance for selecting species to improve restoration success in a changing climate. We planted 12 native species in ambient rainfall and under 60% rain‐out shelters in an invaded coastal grassland in central California. We measured survival and size annually for 4 years and quantified plant community and trait composition in the third and fourth years. We measured growth rate, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf C:N, leaf lobedness and leaf δ 13 C of all planted species and dominant extant species, and evaluated the effect of treatments, traits and phylogenetics on mortality risk using Cox proportional hazards. Native perennial species cover was greater, whereas thatch depth and per cent cover of shrubs and non‐native annual grasses were lower, on drought plots. Drought plots had lower community‐weighted leaf C:N and higher leaf lobedness. Planted species with resource conservative traits, such as higher leaf lobedness and lower growth rate, had lower mortality risk. Increased plasticity of morphological traits (SLA and lobedness) was associated with decreased mortality risk, whereas increased plasticity of physiological traits (leaf C:N and δ 13 C) and risk was positively correlated. Trait plasticity explained a greater degree of plant mortality risk compared to absolute trait values. Plants that were more phylogenetically related to the surrounding plant community had lower mortality risk. Traits of planted species that were important for determining plant mortality in this coastal grassland may be conserved, which was supported by a phylogenetic signal (Blomberg's K = 0.380, Pagel's λ = 0.830) in leaf C:N. Synthesis and applications . Our results suggest that leaf traits and phylogenetics could serve as plant selection criteria for reducing plant mortality risk during drought, thereby improving restoration outcomes. Because some traits have a phylogenetic signal that explains drought survival, restoration practitioners could expand the use of trait‐based selection for closely related species when restoring other arid‐ and semi‐arid ecosystems.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Drought plots had greater native perennial cover.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Native perennial species cover was greater, whereas thatch depth and per cent cover of shrubs and non‐native annual grasses were lower, on drought plots.”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought plots had lower thatch depth and shrub and non-native annual grass cover.
- Taxon
- shrubs and non‐native annual grassese0
- Treatment
- drought plotse0
- Outcome
- thatch depth and per cent covere0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“thatch depth and per cent cover of shrubs and non‐native annual grasses were lower, on drought plots.”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought plots had lower community-weighted leaf C:N.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Drought plots had lower community‐weighted leaf C:N and higher leaf lobedness.”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought plots had higher leaf lobedness.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Drought plots had lower community‐weighted leaf C:N and higher leaf lobedness.”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher leaf lobedness was associated with lower mortality risk in planted species.
Verbatim
e0“Planted species with resource conservative traits, such as higher leaf lobedness and lower growth rate, had lower mortality risk.”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower growth rate was associated with lower mortality risk in planted species.
Verbatim
e0“Planted species with resource conservative traits, such as higher leaf lobedness and lower growth rate, had lower mortality risk.”
Claim · model-written summary
Greater morphological trait plasticity was associated with reduced mortality risk.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Increased plasticity of morphological traits (SLA and lobedness) was associated with decreased mortality risk”
Claim · model-written summary
Greater physiological trait plasticity was positively correlated with mortality risk.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“increased plasticity of physiological traits (leaf C:N and δ 13 C) and risk was positively correlated.”
Claim · model-written summary
Trait plasticity explained more mortality risk than absolute trait values.
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“Trait plasticity explained a greater degree of plant mortality risk compared to absolute trait values.”
Claim · model-written summary
Plants more closely related to the surrounding community had lower mortality risk.
- Taxon
- PlantsViridiplantaee0
- Outcome
- mortality riske0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Setting
- surrounding plant communitye0
Verbatim
e0“Plants that were more phylogenetically related to the surrounding plant community had lower mortality risk.”
Claim · model-written summary
Leaf C:N showed a phylogenetic signal.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“a phylogenetic signal (Blomberg's K = 0.380, Pagel's λ = 0.830) in leaf C:N”
Claim · model-written summary
Authors suggest using leaf traits and phylogenetic relatedness for restoration plant selection during drought.
Verbatim
e0“leaf traits and phylogenetics could serve as plant selection criteria for reducing plant mortality risk during drought”