Soil textural control of desert vegetation productivity.
My M.S. research focused on understanding how soil physical properties influence aboveground productivity of arid and semiarid ecosystems across the U.S. Desert Southwest. Soil texture controls the amount of moisture that is available for desert vegetation, and indirectly controls aboveground productivity. The goal of my research was to determine if this relationship was broadly important across the three Southwestern deserts: the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts. We found that soil texture, particularly subsurface soil texture, was largely important in determining aboveground productivity in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, but was much less important in the Chihuahuan Desert. Further, we found this relationship was seasonally important, soil texture did not influence aboveground productivity during the summer monsoon season in any one of the deserts. Understanding these dynamics are important for maintaining the productivity of our arid and semiarid ecosystems, especially as the climate of the US Desert Southwest becomes hotter and drier.
Associated article: Subsurface soil textural control of aboveground productivity in the US Desert Southwest.
Associated article: Subsurface soil textural control of aboveground productivity in the US Desert Southwest.