Grasslands in New Mexico play an important role in the state's economy, environment and culture, supporting industries like agriculture and tourism, while also contributing to local wildlife and water conservation.
Beyond their economic and cultural significances, grasslands are essential ecosystems of global significance. Their deep roots, which are native to their environments, help retain water, prevent soil erosion and seep water into the ground. Additionally, they store carbon underground and provide food and shelter for many animals, including wild and domestic grazing animals. The plants help soils retain moisture from rainwater and reduce evaporation in more arid climates.
Scott Collins, a distinguished professor from the Department of Biology at The University of New Mexico (UNM), and his research partners undertook a seven-year long research experiment to study how grasslands respond to prolonged drought.
"Grasslands are important ecosystems and communities that preserve biodiversity, occurring from Africa to North America," Collins said. "Climate models are predicting multiyear droughts in our country's future, understanding how these ecosystems respond and recover is crucial."
Contrasting drought sensitivity of Eurasian and North American grasslands was published online at nature.com. Collins helped lead this effort in North America, but worked with several partners. Collins' co-authors are Jenn Rudgers, a distinguished professor of biology at UNM, Melinda Smith professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Colorado State University and Alan Knapp, a distinguished professor of biology at Colorado State University. The Chinese research partners are Qiang Yu and Wentao Luo from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The team studied grasslands at sites across the U.S. that receive different levels of rainfall to examine how each area reacts to drought conditions. They choose two sites in New Mexico, one in Colorado, one in Wyoming and two in Kansas.
He explains the role of grasslands biodiversity in terms of an investment portfolio. "Some species of plants, grass, seeds and animals thrive under certain conditions versus others," said Collins. "It's important to know which conditions exist and which species thrive in our backyard to implement effective management policies."
Collins said their findings were surprising, because they were the exact opposite of what they thought. They showed that the grass species in New Mexico that grew before the drought seem to give up and a new species of grass grows back as they recover. Additionally, North America grasslands were much more resistant over the seven-year drought experiment in comparison to China's grasslands. The researchers found that China's grasslands continued to decline significantly over time.
Collins' research will help determine and identify new management and processes to preserve grasslands during these hard times. This knowledge can help ranchers manage their grazing lands more efficiently in the future and inform policies on land and water conservation.
"We learned so much during the drought of the 1930s," he said. "The dustbowl reshaped land management strategies. We hope this research will have a similar impact on future conservation efforts, as climate change persists."
Collins recommends future research should focus on how grasslands respond to consecutive droughts. By examining the response to the first drought, observing the recovery phase and then watching the impact on subsequent drought treatments, researchers can gain valuable insights. Ultimately, informing and creating new management plans for a future with more long-term droughts.
To learn more about Collin's research, visit his faculty profile webpage.
