Biomass production of different ecotypes of threegrass species of the semi-arid grasslands of southern Africa

Biomass production of different ecotypes within three ecological importantgrass species was determined during cultivation under uniform environmental conditions. Results obtained clearly indicate that ecotypes of these species exhibit a significant degree of variation with regard to biomass production. Furthermore, indications from this investigation are that no correlation exists between production ability of a species and long-term average rainfall, and the effect of both genetic and environmental factors on the production ability of a species determines the eventual biomass production of a species. Biomass production represents one of various ecologically important characteristics to be used in conjunction with other ecological characters to construct a usable, special purpose classification system. This system will assist rangeland ecologists in identifying functional ecotypes within grass species, thus facilitating the understanding and interpretation of vegetation dynamic models and rangeland condition assessments.