Ecology of Desert Plants. III. Development of Plants in the Death Valley National Monument, California
Went FW and Westergaard M. 1949. Ecology of Desert Plants. III. Development of Plants in the Death Valley National Monument, California. Ecology. 30(1):26-38
The authors made several visits to Death Valley National Monument between October 1945 and March 1947, in an attempt to correlate their observations of plant germination and growth with temperature and rainfall [recorded at Greenland Ranch (now Furnace Creek Ranch) and park headquarters at Cow Creek]. They also compared germination, seasonal occurrence, and length of vegetative growth in Death Valley with other "less extreme" deserts. In addition to field observations, soil samples containing seeds were collected from two areas of the floor of Death Valley and subjected to different controlled day and night temperatures in the laboratory. The authors found a correlation between plant germination/growth and the amount of rainfall and the temperature immediately following the rain. Minimal temperatures of 8-10 degrees C following a rain resulted in full germination of winter annuals. One group of plants found in the "less extreme" deserts is lacking from Death Valley: the summer annuals.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Went, F.; Westergaard, M.
- Units
- DEVA , MOJA
- Keywords
- Absence (Biodiversity), Abundance (Biodiversity), Air Temperature, Amargosa Desert, Climate, Death Valley National Park CA NV, Distribution (Biodiversity), dryness, Germination, Growth, Panamint Valley, Plant Studies, Precipitation, Presence (Biodiversity), Sea Level, Seasonality, Soil Moisture, Taxa Links To Datasets, Taxa Links To References