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Comparison Of Drought Response Between Delphinium Nuttallianum And Taraxacum Officinale, Patrick A. Daly

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

As global warming raises average temperatures, increases evaporation rates, and brings earlier snowmelt, drought has become more frequent in the state of Colorado and the intermountain region in general. Native plant species are expected to adapt to these changes faster than non-native ones. The common dandelion (T. officinale) is a non-native plant in the Gunnison Basin, but as drought conditions increase in frequency, how are the plant’s abundance levels rising or falling compared to Nuttall’s larkspur (D. nuttallianum)? This question was investigated by comparing years with varying degrees of drought using a suite of GIS tools …