Climate controls on grass culm production over a quarter century in a tallgrass prairie

• Published in: Ecology (Durham) Vol. 91; no. 7; pp. 2132 - 2140
• Main Authors: Craine, Joseph M, E. Gene Towne, Jesse B. Nippert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Ecological Society of America 01.07.2010
• Subjects: Andropogon gerardii; Biomass; Climate; climatic factors; culms; Ecosystem; flowering; Flowers - growth & development; genetics; graminoids; grasses; growing season; herbivores; highlands; human health; lowlands; Poaceae - classification; Poaceae - growth & development; population dynamics; primary productivity; Rain; Schizachyrium scoparium; Soil - analysis; soil water; Sorghastrum nutans; Species Specificity; Time Factors; Water - chemistry; water balance; watersheds; Kansas
• ISSN: 0012-9658; 1939-9170
• DOI: 10.1890/09-1242.1

The flowering of grasses is a process critical to plant population dynamics and genetics, herbivore performance, and human health. To better understand the climate factors governing grass flowering, we analyzed the patterns of culm production over 25 years for three perennial tallgrass prairie species at Konza Prairie in Kansas, USA. The three species (Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, and Schizachyrium scoparium) all utilize the C₄ photosynthetic pathway and were measured annually at the same locations for the past 25 years in an annually burned watershed. Culm production of all three species increased with higher growing‐season soil moisture and precipitation but differed in their responses to water availability at different times during the growing season. Relative to Andropogon, Sorghastrum responded more to precipitation early in the growing season, and Schizachyrium responded more to precipitation late in the growing season. Flowering by each species also revealed a threshold relationship with late‐season soil moisture at