Primary productivity and water use in native forest, grassland, and desert ecosystem

TitlePrimary productivity and water use in native forest, grassland, and desert ecosystem
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1978
AuthorsWebb W, Szarek S, Lauenroth W.K, Kinerson R, Smith M
JournalEcology
Volume59
Pagination1239-1247
Date Published1978
Call Number00360
Keywordsarticle, articles, Bouteloua,productivity, evapotranspiration, grassland, forests, grass,Bouteloua, grassland, evapotranspiration, grassland, primary production, journal, journals, primary production, grassland, productivity, grassland, water-use efficiency
AbstractThe relationship between aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and water use varied significantly among ecosystem types. For both hot deserts and shortgrass prairie-cold deserts which are water limited, ANPP is linearly related to annual water use above a minimum amount of water, estimated at 38 to 170 mm, respectively, needed annually to sustain each system. Once the minimum water to sustain ANPP is reached, ANPP increases an estimated 0.38 g and 1.09 g per 1000 g of additional water in the hot desert and the shortgrass prairie-cold desert. In forest systems not water stressed, ANPP was not related to water use. For grasslands representing a gradient from water stressed toward not water stressed, ANPP correspondingly declined per unit of water used. Classically evaluating water-use efficiency as annual ANPP divided by annual evapotranspiration, forests are the most efficient, 0.9 to 1.8 g ANPP/1000 g water, followed by shortgrass prairie, 0.2 to 0.7, then hot deserts, 0.1 to 0.3.