A potentially important organizing principle in arid and semi-arid systems is the inverse-texture hypothesis which predicts that plant communities on coarse-textured soils should have higher above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) than communities on fine-textured soils; the reverse is predicted to occur in humid regions. Our objectives were: (1) to test predictions from the inverse-texture hypothesis across a regional precipitation gradient, and (2) to evaluate changes in community composition and basal cover on coarse-and fine-textured soils across this gradient to determine how these structural parameters may affect ANPP. Sites were located along a precipitation gradient through the Central Grassland region of the United States: mean annual precipitation ranges from 311 mm/y to 711 mm/y, whereas mean annual temperature ranges from 9 °C to 11 °C.