Vegetational changes on a semidesert range from 1858 to 1963

TitleVegetational changes on a semidesert range from 1858 to 1963
Publication TypeThesis
Year of Publication1964
AuthorsBuffington L.C.
Number of Pages93
Date Published1964
UniversityNew Mexico State University
CityLas Cruces, New Mexico
Thesis TypeM.S. Thesispp
Call Number00026
Keywordscreosotebush, SEE <LARREA>, dissertation, dissertations, Flourensia,encroachment, grassland, shrub encroachment, history,vegetation changes, Larrea,encroachment, mesquite, SEE <PROSOPIS>, Prosopis,encroachment, shrub, encroachment, succession, tarbush,SEE <FLOURENSIA>, theses, thesis, vegetation,shrub encroachment
AbstractThe purpose of this study was to show the degree of encroachment of brush and also to study the nature of the invasion on the various soil types. Vegetation surveys of 1858, 1915, 1928, and 1963, formed the basis for comparisons. Factors possibly responsible for changes in vegetation were examined. The study was conducted on 144,475 acres of the Jornada Experimental Range, located 23 miles northeast of Las Cruces, New Mexico....Climatic change was not considered a major factor in brush invasion; however, periodic drought had some effect on brush invasion. Selective grazing by livestock also aided in the establishment of brush. Livestock are important in the dispersion of mesquite seeds. Early-day fires were not considered to be a factor in the maintenance of brush-free range, since no fires were reported by early travelers on the Jornada plain.