DOI: 10.5061/dryad.m63n758
title: Data from: Plant functional groups mediate drought resistance and recovery in a multi-site grassland experiment

description: 1. Climate change predictions suggest that summer droughts will become
 more intense and recurrent in Europe. While drought-induced reductions in
 grassland primary productivity are well documented, the drivers behind
 drought resistance (the capacity to withstand change) and recovery (the
 capacity for recovery of function) of above- and belowground biomass
 remain poorly understood. 2. Across eight grasslands differing in plant
 community productivity (CP) we investigated the effects of summer drought
 on plant and soil microbial variables, plant nutrient content and soil
 nitrogen (N) availability. We examined the linkages between community
 productivity, soil N, drought responses of plant and microbial communities
 and relative drought responses of plant and microbial biomass. Plant and
 microbial variables were recorded at the end of a three-month rainfall
 exclusion period. Plant variables were also assessed during a 10-month
 drought recovery period. 3. Experimental drought decreased plant biomass
 and increased plant C:N ratios, but had no effect on total microbial
 biomass across sites. Instead, drought caused shifts in plant and
 microbial community structures as well as an increase in arbuscular
 mycorrhiza fungi biomass. Overall, plant biomass drought resistance was
 unrelated to community productivity or microbial community structure but
 was positively related to drought resistance of forbs. 4. In the month
 after rewetting, soil N availability increased in droughted plots across
 sites. Two months post-rewetting, droughted plots had higher plant N
 concentration, but lower plant N use efficiency. The short-term drought
 recovery of plant biomass was unrelated to community productivity or soil
 N availability, but positively related to the response of grass biomass,
 reflecting incomplete recovery at high community productivity. Ten months
 after rewetting, drought effects on plant biomass and plant N content were
 no longer apparent. 5. Synthesis. Our results suggest that drought
 resistance and recovery are more sensitive to plant community composition
 than to community productivity (CP). Short-term recovery of plant biomass
 may also benefit from increased soil N availability after drought and from
 a high abundance of soil fungi in low productivity sites. Our findings
 underline the importance of plant functional groups for the stability of
 permanent grasslands in a changing climate with more frequent drought.
description: Data
 AbbreviationsData abbreviations for
 the files: Mackie_Drought_Legacy_Plant.csv;
 Mackie_Drought_Legacy_Soil_Microorganisms.csv;
 Mackie_Drought_Legacy_Soil_Nitrogen.csvMackie_Data_Abbreviations.pdfMackie_Drought_Legacy_PlantPlant samples were collected on four sampling dates between 2014 and 2015 for a multi-site precipitation exclusion field experiment. Plant variables include grass, leguminous forb, non-leguminous forb, and total plant biomass, plant nitrogen content, plant carbon:nitrogen ratio, and nitrogen use efficiency.Mackie_Drought_Legacy_Soil_MicroorganismsSoil samples were collected at one sampling date in 2014 for a multi-site precipitation exclusion field experiment. Soil variables include gravimetric soil moisture at three sampling depths and bacterial and fungal abundances from phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) analyses.Mackie_Drought_Legacy_Soil_NitrogenSoil nitrogen measurements were collected at two intervals in 2014 for a multi-site precipitation exclusion field experiment using plant root simulators (PRS™-probes, Western AG, Canada). Total soil nitrogen, soil nitrate and soil ammonium were measured.