Title | Mesquite-grassland ecotones in the Chihuahuan Desert |
Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
Year of Publication | 1999 |
Authors | Beck RF, McNeely R.P., Gibbens, Robert P. |
Editor | E. McArthur D, W. Ostler K, Wambolt CL |
Conference Name | Proceedings: Shrubland Ecotones |
Volume | RMRS-P-11 |
Pagination | 84-87 |
Date Published | August 12-14, 19 |
Publisher | U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station |
Conference Location | Ogden, UT |
ARIS Log Number | 098706 |
Abstract | Many plains and uplands of the Chihuahuan Desert in southern New Mexico are in transition from perennial desert grassland to a mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)- dominated shrubland. On the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center north of Las Cruces, from 1982 to 1996, mesquite aerial cover increased from 1.9 to 4.5% and density increased from 123 to 176 plants ha-1, with recruitment averaging 3.5 plants ha-1yr-1. Shrubs encroach into grasslands by individual plants becoming established and, over time, creating patches of mesquite. These patches expand into islands of mesquite with a greater biodiversity than the surrounding grasslands. The mesquite islands eventually coalesce into the mesquite "front" and biodiversity decreases. Thus, the current grass-shrublands may best be considered as ecotones, both spatially and temporally. |
URL | /files/bibliography/99-001.pdf |