SGS-LTER Spatial variability in seed production of the perennial bunchgrass Bouteloua gracilis on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1992-2005

Production of seeds of Bouteloua gracilis was evaluated for a semiarid grassland in northeastern Colorado. Ten locations were chosed to represent the range in soil textures and grazing intensities found at the Central Plains Experiemental Range research site. Number of flowering culms, inforescences and seeds, length of each flowering clum, total biomass or reproductive structures (culms, inforescences and seeds), and basal areas were assessed for each plant sampled. Community-level estimates of density of flowering culms and density of viable seeds are made for each location. Both soil texture and grazing intensity by cattle are important to spatial variability in seed production and other indicators of reproductive effort by B. gracilis.