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Life Sciences Commons

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Botany

Journal

2017

Edwards Air Force Base

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Plant Phenology And Water Relations In A Saline Pan-Dune Mosaic In The Western Mojave Desert, M. Rasoul Sharifi, William N. Brostoff, Philip W. Rundel Jan 2017

Plant Phenology And Water Relations In A Saline Pan-Dune Mosaic In The Western Mojave Desert, M. Rasoul Sharifi, William N. Brostoff, Philip W. Rundel

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

An extensive mosaic of small clay pans and low stable dunes exists within Edwards Air Force Base in the western Mojave Desert of California. This pan-dune ecosystem, positioned between the large Rosamond and Rogers dry lakes on the old Pleistocene lakebed of Lake Thompson, provides an opportunity to study the seasonal patterns in growth and flowering phenology and water relations in a saltbush scrub community dominated by a mix of C3 and C4 species. C3 shrubs initiated vegetative growth in February, with current shoot and leaf production largely ceasing in most species by mid-April. The deeply rooted …


Community Structure And Demography In A Saline Pan-Dune Mosaic In The Western Mojave Desert, M. Rasoul Sharifi, William N. Brostoff, Philip W. Rundel Jan 2017

Community Structure And Demography In A Saline Pan-Dune Mosaic In The Western Mojave Desert, M. Rasoul Sharifi, William N. Brostoff, Philip W. Rundel

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

A unique saline ecological system formed by an extensive mosaic of small clay pans and low stable dunes exists within Edwards Air Force Base in the western Mojave Desert of California. This ecosystem lies between the large Rosamond and Rogers dry lakes on the old Pleistocene lakebed of Lake Thompson. Plant communities on the low and relatively stable dunes were broadly classed as saltbush scrub, with a total canopy cover of 30–36%. Atriplex confertifolia was the typical dominant, with Ericameria nauseosa as an important associate. Taller dunes of younger age and less saline soils had similar plant cover, but a …