title: Plants are less negatively affected by flooding when growing in species-rich plant communities.
abstract: Flooding is expected to increase in frequency and severity in the future. The ecological consequences of flooding are the combined result of species-specific plant traits and ecological context. However, the majority of past flooding research has focused on individual model species under highly controlled conditions. An early summer flooding event in a grassland biodiversity experiment in Jena, Germany, provided the opportunity to assess flooding responses of 60 grassland species in monocultures and 16-species mixtures. We examined plant biomass, species-specific traits (plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), root aerenchyma, starch content) and soil porosity. We found that, on average, plant species were less negatively affected by the flood when grown in higher-diversity plots in July 2013. By September 2013, grasses were unaffected by the flood regardless of plant diversity, and legumes were severely negatively affected regardless of plant diversity. Plants with greater SLA and more root aerenchyma performed better in September. Soil porosity was higher in higher-diversity plots and had a positive effect on plant performance. As floods become more frequent and severe in the future, growing flood-sensitive plants in higher-diversity communities and in soil with greater soil aeration may attenuate the most negative effects of flooding.
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|FIT - Science & Mathematics, 227 W 27th St., New York, NY, 11201, USA.
authors.forename: Alexandra J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Experimental Plant Ecology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: de Kroon
authors.affiliation: Experimental Plant Ecology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eric J W
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.affiliation: Department Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Buchmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Straße 159, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebeling
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eisenhauer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geoscience, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Burgweg 11, D-07749, Jena, Germany.|Department of Conservation Biology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Straße 159, 07743, Jena, Germany.|Institute of Geoscience, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Burgweg 11, D-07749, Jena, Germany.|Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hildebrandt
authors.affiliation: Experimental Plant Ecology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Janneke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravenek
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Straße 159, 07743, Jena, Germany.|Physiological Diversity, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roscher
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weigelt
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Terrestrische Ökologie, Technische Universität München, 85354, Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weisser
authors.affiliation: Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Laurentius A C J
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Voesenek
authors.affiliation: Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Liesje
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mommer
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D055868:Floods; D063245:Plant Development; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D016062:Porosity; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D012987:Soil; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: aerenchyma; diversity; flooding traits; grasses; legumes; plant functional groups; soil air porosity; specific leaf area (SLA)