Technical Abstract: J.P. Grime's 'mass-ratio' hypothesis holds that ecosystem processes depend in the short term on functional properties of dominant plant species and in the longer term on how resident species influence the recruitment of potential dominants. The latter of these effects may be especially important among early-successional species in disturbed ecosystems, but experimental tests are few. We removed two groups of early-successional species, an annual forb Gutierrezia dracunculoides (common or annual broomweed) and annual species (mostly grasses) that complete growth early in the growing season (early-season species), from a heavily-grazed grassland in central Texas, USA that was dominated by a C4 perennial grass. We sought to determine effects of these annuals on grassland functioning (productivity, water balance, and nitrogen) and composition. Removals had little impact on N dynamics during the two years of this study, but removing early-season annuals increased the amount of water present in the 30 to 120 cm increment of the soil profile during the early part of each growing season. Immediate effects of removing annuals on productivity of the grassland were consistent with predictions from the mass-ratio hypothesis. Biomass production and nitrogen (N) accumulation by vegetation declined following the removal of early-season annuals in approximate proportion to the contribution of annuals to aboveground biomass and N. Longer-term effects of annuals on grassland composition were evident in a dramatic increase in the biomass of perennial forbs after annuals were removed. Because perennial forbs differ from the dominant grass in this grassland in traits that influence ecosystem functioning, early-successional annuals may in the longer term influence grassland functioning more by regulating the composition of vegetation than by directly affecting process rates.