Correlation of major vegetation climaxes with soil characteristics in the Sonoran desert
Yang TW and Lowe CH. 1956. Correlation of major vegetation climaxes with soil characteristics in the Sonoran desert. Science. 123(3196):542
Soil characteristics determined from samples taken over a 14-mile transect of desert vegetation have yielded highly significant differences associated with two distinctly different climax vegetation types. The major soil class was fanglomerate alluvium. The transect was in the Tucson Mountains and Avra Valley. Soil samples were taken to a depth of three feet from sixteen stations. The lighter, more rocky soil of the upper slopes supports the paloverde-saguaro vegetation type, whereas the finer soil of the lower slopes and valley supports the creosotebush-bursage association. The same macro climate exists for both types. Wilting coefficients were determined for each soil sample. The less colloidal, more sandy, and more rocky soil supporting paloverde-saguaro association has a wilting coefficient of approximately one-half that of the finer soil of the creosotebush-bursage association. Twice the amount of soil moisture is available for plant use in the paloverde-saguaro association than is available in the creosotebush-bursage association. Intermediate values were found along the gradient.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Yang, Tien; Lowe, Charles
- Units
- SODN
- Keywords
- Ecology, Inventory and Monitoring (I&M), Plant Studies, Soil Science