Some Slope-Plant Relationships in the Grasslands of the Little Missouri Badlands of North Dakota
Dix RL. 1958. Some Slope-Plant Relationships in the Grasslands of the Little Missouri Badlands of North Dakota. Journal of Range Management. 11(2):88-92
The importance of slope in the determination of the kinds and numbers of plants which occupy a site has long been recognized. It is not possible, however, to isolate the influence of slope alone from the multitude of other environmental and biotic factors which are inevitably and inseparably linked to it. The degree of slope will strongly influence such factors as soil stability and erosion, runoff, received insolation, accessibility to grazing animals and untimately the vegetal cover supported by a site. Since the kinds and numbers of plants occupying a site are a reliable index to its past and present environment, the investigation of correlations between slope and species composition would appear a promising approach to the study of slope-plant relationships. The aim of this paper is to describe the vegetational characteristics of four grassland stands differing in slope and exposure in the Badlands of the Little Missouri River, and to interpret their similarities and differences in terms of underlying causes. The location of the study area is SE1/4 sec. 11, T.40 N.R. 102 W. This area is approximately one mile south of the Peaceful Valley Ranch, TRNMP, Billings County, North Dakota
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Dix, Ralph
- Units
- THRO
- Keywords
- Billings County, Erosion, Exposure, ND, Plant Studies, Plants, Slope, Soils, Vegetation