Growth form and lifespan of herbaceous species mediate the role of traits in short-term drought response

Samantha Worthy; Justin Luong; Brook E. Wainwright; Jonathan Aguiñaga; Harald Auge; Anca Barcu; Amgaa Batbaatar; Karen H Beard; Edward W Bork; Katherine E. Brafford; Kerry M Byrne; James F Cahill; Michele Carbognani; Cameron N Carlyle; Karen Castillioni; Manjunatha H Chandregowda; Scott X. Chang; Jeff Chieppa; Amber C Churchill; Jennifer E. Cribbs; Thomas Deola; Jeffrey S Dukes; Anne Ebeling; Nico Eisenhauer; Elise C. Elwood; Regina A. Fairbanks; T'ai G W Forte; Flavia A Funk; Anjum K. Gujral; Siri Vatsø Haugum; Yann Hautier; Hugh A L Henry; Forest Isbell; Anke Jentsch; Samuel Jordan; Sally Koerner; Juergen Kreyling; György Kröel-Dulay; Andrew Kulmatiski; Eric G. Lamb; Michael E Loik; Maria Longo; Alejandro Loydi; Dylan J. MacArthur-Waltz; Clara Milano; John W Morgan; Akira S Mori; Seth M. Munson; Gregory S Newman; Uffe N Nielsen; Rory C O'Connor; Timothy Ohlert; Brooke Osborne; Rafael Otfinowski; Meelis Pärtel; Pablo L Peri; Guadalupe Peter; Alessandro Petraglia; Juan Manuel Piñeiro-Guerra; Laura W Ploughe; Cristy Portales-Reyes; Sally A Power; Suzanne M Prober; Yolanda Pueyo; Christiane Roscher; Bráulio A Santos; Melinda D Smith; Lara Souza; Andreas Stampfli; Rachel Standish; Marie Sünnemann; Michelle Tedder; Pål Thorvaldsen; Katja Tielbörger; Alejandro Valdecantos; Liesbeth van den Brink; Vigdis Vandvik; Liv Guri Velle; Jennifer L Williams; Amelia A Wolf; Laura Yahdijian; Alyssa Young; Juan M. Zeberio; Michaela Zeiter; Richard P Phillips; Jennifer L Funk

doi:10.1038/s41559-026-02989-4

Journal article

Growth form and lifespan of herbaceous species mediate the role of traits in short-term drought response

Samantha Worthy, Justin Luong, Brook E. Wainwright, Jonathan Aguiñaga, Harald Auge, Anca Barcu, Amgaa Batbaatar, Karen H Beard, Edward W Bork, Katherine E. Brafford, …

Nature Ecology & Evolution

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-02989-4

Abstract

Increased climate variability is expected to intensify short-term drought events. Plants have evolved stress tolerance strategies involving trade-offs in resource conservation, mycorrhizal collaboration and plant size, yet how these strategies promote drought resistance across different herbaceous plant groups remains unknown. Leveraging 63 globally distributed grassland and shrubland sites from the International Drought Experiment, we identified plant traits linked to drought resistance in 661 populations of 421 species after 1 year of extreme drought. We assessed how traits, site precipitation and drought severity affected cover change across growth forms and lifespans, and how trait–environment interactions influenced drought resistance. Across all species, leaf N (an acquisitive trait) was associated with drought resistance, whereas in forbs, drought resistance was also associated with a conservative root trait and plant size. In addition, interactions among traits mediated drought resistance; root traits predicted performance only in concert with other traits. Environmental variables influenced trait effects on drought resistance, notably for annuals in wetter sites, suggesting that drought-escape strategies in annuals may be advantageous only under mild stress. Our study highlights variability in traits that predict drought resistance across herbaceous plant groups, emphasizing the importance of species context, environmental stress and the selection of traits in research and management.

Details

Title: Growth form and lifespan of herbaceous species mediate the role of traits in short-term drought response
Authors/Creators: Samantha Worthy
Justin Luong
Brook E. Wainwright
Jonathan Aguiñaga
Harald Auge - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Anca Barcu
Amgaa Batbaatar - University of Alberta
Karen H Beard - Utah State University
Edward W Bork - University of Alberta
Katherine E. Brafford
Kerry M Byrne - Cal Poly Humboldt
James F Cahill
Michele Carbognani - University of Parma
Cameron N Carlyle - University of Alberta
Karen Castillioni - University of Minnesota
Manjunatha H Chandregowda - Western Sydney University
Scott X. Chang
Jeff Chieppa - Western Sydney University
Amber C Churchill - Binghamton University
Jennifer E. Cribbs
Thomas Deola
Jeffrey S Dukes - Carnegie Institution for Science
Anne Ebeling - Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Nico Eisenhauer - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Elise C. Elwood
Regina A. Fairbanks
T'ai G W Forte - University of Parma
Flavia A Funk - Universidad Nacional del Sur
Anjum K. Gujral
Siri Vatsø Haugum - University of Bergen
Yann Hautier - Utrecht University
Hugh A L Henry - Western University
Forest Isbell - University of Minnesota
Anke Jentsch - University of Bayreuth
Samuel Jordan - Arizona State University
Sally Koerner - University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Juergen Kreyling - Universität Greifswald
György Kröel-Dulay - Institute of Ecology and Botany
Andrew Kulmatiski - Utah State University
Eric G. Lamb - University of Saskatchewan
Michael E Loik - University of California, Santa Cruz
Maria Longo
Alejandro Loydi - Universidad Nacional del Sur
Dylan J. MacArthur-Waltz
Clara Milano
John W Morgan - La Trobe University
Akira S Mori - The University of Tokyo
Seth M. Munson - United States Geological Survey
Gregory S Newman - University of Oklahoma
Uffe N Nielsen - Western Sydney University
Rory C O'Connor
Timothy Ohlert - Colorado State University
Brooke Osborne - Utah State University
Rafael Otfinowski - University of Winnipeg
Meelis Pärtel
Pablo L Peri - National University of Austral Patagonia
Guadalupe Peter - National University of Río Negro
Alessandro Petraglia - University of Parma
Juan Manuel Piñeiro-Guerra - Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology Research Institute
Laura W Ploughe - Purdue University West Lafayette
Cristy Portales-Reyes
Sally A Power - Western Sydney University
Suzanne M Prober - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Yolanda Pueyo - Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
Christiane Roscher - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Bráulio A Santos - Universidade Federal da Paraíba
Melinda D Smith - Colorado State University
Lara Souza - University of Oklahoma
Andreas Stampfli - Bern University of Applied Sciences
Rachel Standish - Murdoch University, School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Marie Sünnemann - Leipzig University
Michelle Tedder - University of KwaZulu-Natal
Pål Thorvaldsen - Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research
Katja Tielbörger - University of Tübingen
Alejandro Valdecantos - University of Alicante
Liesbeth van den Brink - University of Tübingen
Vigdis Vandvik - University of Bergen
Liv Guri Velle - Møreforsking (Norway)
Jennifer L Williams - University of British Columbia
Amelia A Wolf - The University of Texas at Austin
Laura Yahdijian
Alyssa Young
Juan M. Zeberio
Michaela Zeiter - Bern University of Applied Sciences
Richard P Phillips - Indiana University Bloomington
Jennifer L Funk
Publication Details: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Publisher: Springer Nature; BERLIN
Number of pages: 26
Identifiers: 991005862488107891
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Resource Type: Journal article

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