Desert Ecology Commons^™

The Nitrogen Budget Of Two Salt Desert Shrub Plant Communities Of Western Utah, Richard S. Bjerregaard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The nitrogen budgets of Eurotia lanata (Pursh.) Moq. and Atriplex confertifolia (Torr. and Frem.) S. Wats salt desert shrub plant communities were investigated. In each, a complete biomass and organic nitrogen inventory was made. In addition, investigations of the nitrogen fixation potential of soil surface microflora and inorganic soil nitrogen relationships were carried out.

Greater total biomass and organic nitrogen was found in the above-ground portions, annual shoot productivity, and litter of the Atriplex community. However, the Atriplex community was exceeded by the Eurotia community in root biomass. Roots accounted for 74 and 87 percent of the plant biomass and …

The Effect Of Las Vegas Wash Effluent Upon The Water Quality In Lake Mead, D. A. Hoffman, P. R. Tramutt, F. C. Heller, Bureau Of Reclamation

Publications (WR)

This study developed from observations made during an earlier study on Lake Mead which was reported in CHE-70, Water Quality Study of Lake Mead. Results from that study indicated that poor-quality water was flowing into the Las Vegas Bay reach of Boulder Basin, Lake Mead. Also reports of deteriorating water quality, resulting in taste and odors in domestic water supplies taken from Boulder Basin as well as a reduction in the attractiveness of Las Vegas Bay for recreational uses caused by aquatic plants and algae blooms, indicated a need for a concentrated study concerning the effects of flows from Las …

Available Water Supply Of The Las Vegas Ground-Water Basin Nevada, Glenn Thomas Malmberg

Publications (WR)

The Las Vegas ground-water basin as described in this report includes the southern part of Indian Spring Valley, Three Lakes Valley, the northern half of Ivanpah Valley, and Las Vegas Valley. These valleys in part are inferred to form a hydrologic unit that includes an area of about 3,000 square miles in the southern part of Clark County, Nev.

The valleys forming the Las Vegas ground-water basin are broad structural depressions surrounded by mountains. The climate of the region is arid, and precipitation in the basin lowlands rarely exceeds 5 inches per year. Drainage is interior except for occasional Hood …

Distribution And Taxonomy Of Mammals Of Nebraska, J. Knox Jones Jr

Nebraskiana Publications: Resources and Materials on the 37th State

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Climate

Soils

Geology and Physiography

Vegetation

Effects of Man on The Envmonment

Factors Influencing Distribution And Speciation

Wisconsin Glaciation And Post-Wisconsin Climates

Emigration of Recent Mammals To Nebraska

Some Effects of The Environment

The Missouri River as a Barrier to Dispersal

Geographic Varlatlon and Speciation

Mammalian Distributional Areas

Summary

Treatment and Acknowledgments

Checklist (with page references) of Mammals of Nebraska

Accounts of Species

Introduced Mammals

Species of Unverified occurrence

Type Localities

Literature Cited

● Order MARSUPIALIA-Marsupials ● ● Family DIDELPHIDAE-Opossums ● Didelphis marsupialis virginiana Kerr (Opossum) ● Order INSECTIVORA-Insectivores ● Family SORICIDAE-Shrews ● Sorex cinereus haydeni Baird …

Perennial Atriplex Of Utah And The Northern Deserts, Craig A. Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

Atriplex is a genus in the Chenopodiaceae, the perennial members of which are ecologically important in western North America. Seventeen species and one subspecies of perennial Atriplex occur in Utah and the northern deserts. Three of these species and the subspecies were described by the writer in a recent publication as a result of extensive field work leading to this study. These are A. welshii, A. navajoensis, A. bonnevillensis, and A. cuneata ssp. introgressa. This study is an investigation of the systematics and phytogeography of the perennial Atriplex in Utah and the northern deserts, with emphasis on the A. gardneri …

Mammals Of Mount Taylor, Valencia County, New Mexico, Eugene E. Schroeder

Biology ETDs

During the summer of 1960, three months were spent in making a comprehensive study of the kinds and ecological distribution of native mammals in and above the Transition Zone on Mount Taylor of Valencia County, New Mexico.

Mount Taylor, and old volcanic pile, rises 11,301 feet above sea level. Three boreal life zones, the Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian were assigned to Mount Taylor.

Small mammals were collected by two sampling methods, quadrant and line trapping. However, mist nets were used for capturing bats. Quadrants were placed in various plant communities for three successive nights. Numbers and kinds of mammals recorded …

The Succession Of Vegetation On A Southern Utah Sand Dune, Elias S. Castle

Theses and Dissertations

The sand dunes lying ten miles northwest of Kanab in Kane County, Utah, support a sparse plant cover with four species dominating the vegetation: Psoralea stenostachys, Sophora stenophylla, Oryzopsis hymenoides, and Wyethia scabra var. attenuata. Of these Psoralea and Wyethia are endemic to the dunes or to a limited area which includes the dunes. The pineer species gain a start in the valleys between dunes and occupy the area only until sand covers them or until sand is blown away from their roots. Stabilization of the soils is not permanently in the interdune valleys and the dunes continue to wander. …

Progress Report On The Ground-Water Resources Of The Las Vegas Artesian Basin, Nevada, George B. Maxey, C. Harry Jameson

Publications (WR)

Whether the tremendously increased population acquired by Las Vegas in the years 1940 to 1942 will be retained cannot at present be foretold. However, the valley will undoubtedly be expected to support a considerably larger population than it did at any time prior to 1940, and continually increasing demands on the water supply for innumerable pcacetimc activities must be anticipated. Therefore, a sound evaluation of tho ground water resources of Las Vegas Valley is directly in line with the other wisely progressive planning programs which are now operating or are taking shape in the valley as well as in the …

The Influence Of Overgrazing On The Density And Number Of Palatable And Unpalatable Desert Forage Plants, John H. Mcguire

Theses and Dissertations

The data for this problem were collected at the Desert Range Experiment Station and on adjoining public domain lands during the summer of 1934, for the purpose of studying the influence of overgrazing on the increase of palatable and unpalatable desert forage plants. A vegetative description of the two areas studied has been prepared and presented.

Effects Of Overgrazing On The Mortality Of Desert Browse Of The Utah West Desert, Charles W. Menzies

Theses and Dissertations

During the summer of 1934 this investigation was conducted to determine the effect of overgrazing on the mortality of desert browse in the vicinity of the Desert Range Branch experiment station. Range lands of western United States have, as a whole been subjected to overgrazing. Utah has about 24 million acres of public acres of public domain that can only be utilized from grazing. An effort has been made to put this area under control. The "Taylor Grazing Act" passed by Congress June 28, 1934 is a big step in the direction of the control of this vast area of …