Drought-Stricken Plant Communities

Background

Different species of plants react to stresses in different ways. For example, grasslands are quite sensitive to drought. Droughts occur at varying frequencies and varying levels of severity. Numerous observations suggest that the number of different species present plays a role in how a plant community adapts when exposed to cycles of drought over successive generations. In some communities with only one species of plant, the generations that follow are not as well adapted to drought conditions as the individual plants in communities with four or more species. These observations raise many questions. For example, what is the minimal number of species necessary for a plant community to benefit from this type of localized biodiversity? How does this phenomenon scale as the number of species increases? What does this imply for the long- term survivability of a plant community?