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Plant Sciences

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Desert plants

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Investigating Three Decades Of Vegetation Change In A Mojave Desert Mountain Range, Chris Lee Roberts May 2012

Investigating Three Decades Of Vegetation Change In A Mojave Desert Mountain Range, Chris Lee Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project is a vegetation change study spanning 29 years in the Newberry Mountains of Southern Nevada. Long term monitoring data are crucial for understanding the effects of climate change on vegetation dynamics. Successful management intervention in vegetation change will require identification of early indicator plant species and their responses to climatic cues. This project is one of the oldest comparisons of resurveyed Mojave vegetation community plots with repeatable methodology and the longest survey interval reported for the southeastern Mojave Desert. 103 plots were relocated and resurveyed based on data methods in Jim Holland's thesis titled "A Vegetative Analysis of …


Climate And Vegetation Change In The Newberry Mountains, Southern Clark County, Nevada, Ross Joseph Guida Aug 2011

Climate And Vegetation Change In The Newberry Mountains, Southern Clark County, Nevada, Ross Joseph Guida

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ecological studies have shown worldwide that vegetation is being affected by climate change. Species are shifting to new elevations and physiographic positions to adapt to changes in their environment. More specifically, paleoecology studies in the Mojave Desert have shown shifting vegetation patterns in response to past warming and precipitation changes. Recent studies have shown mortality among desert plants related to extended drought and warming. However, few studies have shown how the geographic distribution of Mojave Desert species has changed during this most recent period of warming. This study addresses this gap in the literature by focusing on several plant species …


Defining Soil Type And Habitat Characteristics Of The Arctomecon Californica, Philip S. Childers Apr 2004

Defining Soil Type And Habitat Characteristics Of The Arctomecon Californica, Philip S. Childers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A. californica can be considered a rare endemic species, which is believed to be restricted by unique soil relationships. These relationships make the species vulnerable to anthropogenic habitat disturbance. Although A. californica is listed as critically endangered by the state of Nevada, further research is needed before the species can be listed as federally endangered or threatened. This study used primary observational data and secondary GIS compatible data to characterize A. californica habitat. Representative sampling techniques were used to select observations from derived soil types. Although a majority of A. californica populations were found to occur in gypsic soil types, …