Statistical values of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) for the three grassland types: MS, meadow steppe (<i>n</i> = 400); TS, typical steppe (<i>n</i> = 3000); DS, desert steppe (<i>n</i> = 1200).

CV% is the percent coefficient of variation: (Standard deviation/Mean). MAPavg is the average mean annual precipitation (MAP) for the grassland types. Values followed by different lower-case letters are significantly different for different grassland types at P < 0.05.