Water-Repellent Soils, Fire, and Annual Plant Cover in a Desert Scrub Community of Southeastern California
Adams S, Strain BR, Amdams MS. 1970. Water-Repellent Soils, Fire, and Annual Plant Cover in a Desert Scrub Community of Southeastern California. Ecology. 51(4):696-700
Surveys relating soil wettability and the establishment of annual plants were conducted on soil hummocks under burned and unburned shrubs and trees in a desert scrub community 4 years following a fire. Hummocks under burned and unburned individuals of Larrea divaricata, Prosopis juliflora, and Cercidium floridum were nearly devoid of established annual vegetation, whereas the surrounding soil was densely populated with several species of annual plants, predominately Sphaeralcea emoryi. Hydrophobic (water-repellent) layers of soil were found at various depths in the barren hummocks. In general, the layers were further below the soil surface under burned shrubs or trees, and the degree of water repellency was greater. The soil surrounding the hummocks did not contain hydrophobic layers. The mosaic of annuals in the desert scrub vegetation is probably the result of a reduction of available soil moisture due to the formation of water-repellent soils under the shrubs. The effect was more pronounced following fire.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Adams, Susan; Strain, B.; Amdams, M.
- Units
- CAGR , ORPI , SAGU , SODN , TONT
- Keywords
- California, Desert, Ecology (Abiotic Effects), Ecology (Fire), Ecology (Plant), Ecology (soils), Mohavian Biome, Soil Science, Sonoran Biome