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Mesquite: A Long View, Ed Frederickson, Curtis Monger, Eduardo Guevara, Dan Fredrickson

Ed L. Frederickson

Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) is among the most successful plants in Northern México and America"s arid Southwest. Mesquite optimizes pollinator services and reproductive effort, resulting in seeds that persist in herbivore digestive tracts and soil seed banks for extended periods. An extensive root system fully occupies the soil profile long distances from its base, allowing it to harvest water and nutrients with extraordinary efficiency. Root nodules harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria allowing mesquite to overcome usual nitrogen limitations. Mesquite survival is determined early, but once established, it is long-lived, often benefiting from hardships killing most plants. So with mesquite"s superior adaptations and competitive …