Changes in southern Piedmont grassland community structure and nutritive quality with future climate scenarios of...

Forage species common to the southern USA Piedmont region, Lolium arundinacea, Paspalum dilatatum, Cynodon dactylon and Trifolium repens, were established in a model pasture system to test the future climate change scenario of increasing ozone exposure in combination with varying rainfall amounts on community structure and nutritive quality. Forages were exposed to two levels of ozone [ambient (non-filtered; NF) and twice ambient (2×) concentrations] with three levels of precipitation (average or ±20% of average) in modified open-top chambers (OTCs) from June to September 2009. Dry matter (DM) yield did not differ over the growing season between forage types, except in primary growth grasses where DM yield was higher in 2× than NF treatment. Primary growth clover decreased in nutritive quality in 2× ozone because of increased concentrations of neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). Re-growth clover exhibited the largest decrease in nutritive quality, whereas grasses were not adversely affected in 2× ozone. Re-growth grasses responded positively to 2× ozone exposure, as indicated in increased relative food value (RFV) and percentage crude protein (CP) than NF-exposed re-growth grasses. Effects of precipitation were not significant over the growing season for primary or re-growth forage, except in primary growth grasses where DM yield was higher in chambers with above average (+20%) precipitation. Total canopy cover was significantly higher over the growing season in chambers receiving above average precipitation, but no significant effects were observed with ozone. Results indicate shifts in plant community structure and functioning related to mammalian herbivore herbivory in future climate change scenarios.