Biomass dynamics and water use efficiencies of five plant communities in the shortgrass steppe

Standing crop biomass and water-use efficiency were estimated for five plant communities of the Central Plains Experimental Range in north central Colorado. Aboveground biomass by functional groups, surface litter amounts, and standing dead biomass were compared, as were vertical and size-class distributions of belowground biomass. Greater production and water-use efficiency values were found: (1) at coarse-textured sites, indicating the importance of the inverse texture effect, and (2) wherever site characteristics favored the establishment of lifeforms other than grasses, e.g., succulents, and shrubs. Seasonal aboveground biomass and water-use efficiencies for the grass component were similar among sites, even though the mixes of C₃ and C₄ grass species were different. Similar grass biomass values in very different communities suggested that high biomass and high water-use efficiencies were related less to grass types than to the abundance of non-grass life-forms.