Using plant diversity to reduce vulnerability and increase drought resilience of permanent and sown productive grasslands

Climate change associated with a greater variability of inter- and intra-annual droughts the occurrence extreme events act in combination to challenge semi-natural sown productive grasslands Europe. Successful plant strategies under drought strongly depend on stress intensity. Drought resistance maintain leaf growth moderate trades off survival after cessation life-threatening drought. Substantial intra-specific exists key forage grasses originating from Mediterranean cool-temperate climates represents great potential for adaptation future ecotypes cultivars larger range intensities. Plant species diversity offers an opportunity stabilize production two ways. First, reduction is significantly smaller diverse compared simple communities because former include drought-resistant (or drought-surviving) species. Second, positive interactions among increase ecosystem functioning more drought, allowing them compensate drought-induced yield reductions. Currently, available perennial adapted dry climate are still rare only few used systems. Thus, both intra- inter-specific should be better valued reduce vulnerability resilience grasslands.