Long-Term Biomass Dynamics in an Arid Chenopod Shrub Community at Koonamore, South Australia

Abstract

A method for estimating biomass from long-term, non-rigorously controlled photo-points was developed. The method was used to investigate the changes in biomass, from 1926 to 1972, of several important forage species on the Koonamore Vegetation Reserve, South Australia. The changes in biomass are correlated with the rainfall. The biomass dynamics of all the species studied tend to be dominated by large input pulses followed by a slow decline in biomass. The average above-ground biomass and productivity for the community studied is c. 90 gm^-2 and 30 gm^-2 yr^-1 respectively, the major part being due to short-lived plants. Interactions between the short-lived plants and shrubs, and their importance to the grazing industry are discussed.