Mortality of Australian alpine grasses (Poa spp.) after drought: Species differences and ecological patterns

Abstract

Aims: Australian alpine ecosystems currently experience high precipitation in the snow-free season, but they are predicted to experience drier conditions under climate change. We observed high mortality of the dominant alpine grasses following drought in 2007. Our aims were as follows: to test the involvement of plant-available water (PAW) and other environmental variables in grass mortality in the field;to detect possible species differences in drought response andto link soil moisture to precipitation using soil properties and climate data. Methods: The dominant tussock grasses of the Australian alpine zone, Poa hothamensis var. hothamensis N.G. Walsh, Poa hiemata Vickery and Poa phillipsi..