Demography of reproductive and biomass allocation of grassland and dune Leymus chinensis on the Songnen Plain, north-eastern China

Reproductive and biomass allocation patterns of Leymus chinensis were measured on grassland and dune sites in the Songnen plain in 1997 and 1998. Only 2 km apart, the study sites experienced the same weather, but differed in elevation and soil properties; areal precipitation was below-normal in the first year, but well-above in the second. Total plant population, reproductive shoot numbers and differentiation rates of reproductive shoots were higher in the grassland than in the dune site in both years; and higher in both sites in the moister of the 2 years. Inflorescence length and mean seed mass, in contrast to seed numbers per inflorescence, differed significantly between the two sites and between the two years. The dune site had a higher proportion of biomass allocated to rhizomes than the grassland, suggesting a functional response to the different soil environments. Higher biomass proportion in reproductive shoots in the moister year indicates a response of biomass allocation to precipitation