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Precipitation manipulation
Related publications
Kulmatiski, A. and Beard K.H. 2013. Woody plant encroachment facilitated by increasing precipitation intensity. Nature Climate Change. 3:833-837.
Kulmatiski, A., Holdrege, M.C.*, Chirvasa, C*., Beard, K.H. Root distributions predict shrub-steppe responses to precipitation intensity. Biogeochemistry Discussions.
Holdrege, M.C*., Beard, K.A., Kulmatiski, A., Palmquist, K. Precipitation intensification increases shrub dominance in arid, not mesic ecosystems. Ecosystems.
Holdrege, M.C. *, Beard, K.H. and Kulmatiski, A., 2021. Woody plant growth increases with precipitation intensity in a cold semiarid system. Ecology, 102(1), p.e03212.
Berry, R.S.* and A. Kulmatiski. 2017. A savanna response to precipitation intensity. PloS One. 12(4):e0175402.
Project type
Shelters were used in Kruger Park from 2008 to 2013 with support from the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Shelters were used in northern Utah from 2015 to 2021 with support from the Utah Agriculture Experiment Station. We are planning a new set of experiments for southern Utah.
Warmer air can hold more water. As a result, precipitation events are becoming fewer, but larger. Fewer, larger events can lead to runoff, erosion, less water for plants, and longer drought periods between rain events. However, it can also decrease evaporation and increase percolation depth.
Understanding how changing precipitation patterns will affect how much different species grow requires a better understanding of how plants absorb water and experimental tests of changing precipitation patterns.
We use large shelters that collect precipitation and redeposit that precipitation as fewer, larger events to test these ideas.
