Testing the effects of productivity, grazing and drought on grassland plant diversity

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The long-term goal of my research is to understand what controls plant diversity in grasslands and how plant diversity affects grassland ecosystem function. Considering the importance of grasslands worldwide and the stressors that affect grasslands, such as climate change, over-grazing and habitat loss, it is critical to provide information for optimal land management. The short-term goals that I propose within my Discovery Grant application are designed to determine the effects of productivity, grazing and drought on temperate grassland biodiversity and plant trait-ecosystem function relationships. A new dimension to my research will be to embed local research objectives within two international research networks, HerbDivNet and DroughtNet. I will manipulate productivity, grazing and drought on grassland ecosystems, and tease apart fine-scale and landscape patterns in herbaceous plant diversity to: (1) test how productivity affects alpha and beta diversity of grassland communities; (2) determine whether grassland type influences the relationship between plant biomass and herbaceous species richness with and without grazing; and (3) test the effects of reducing water availability through rainout shelters on temperate grassland plant communities and ecosystem-level processes.