Primary productivity, compartment transfers and system transfer functions in iseilema faxum grassland

Abstract

The present study is a part of the overall study. of the production ecology of I. laxum and deals with the herbage dynamics. of the primary producers. The productive structure of the community exhibited marked stratification in vertical distribution of the foliage and an overall dominance of I. laxum at all the heights. The seasonal variation of aboveground standing crop nearly parellels that of Sehima-Heteropogon and other grasslands elsewhere in India where it is observed to correspond with the seasonal distribution of the rainfall. The seasonal variation in the litter production corresponds to the period wherein the standing dead biomass increases the litter production through shattering, leaf fall and senescence. The belowground biomass showed increase just after the monsoon and the spring growth of the aboveground standing crop. Compartment transfers and system transfer functions give an overall picture of belowground directed orientation of ecosystem functioning in I. laxum grasslands.