Filters: Tags: US Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station (X)
2 results (10ms)|
Filters
Date Range
Extensions Types Contacts Categories |
From January 1997 through October 1998, research was conducted at Canyonlands National Park to investigate soil traits responsible for distinct spatial patterns of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) occurrence. Field experiments were conducted at sites representing a broad range of soil conditions and cheatgrass abundances. Standard physicochemical soil measures in combination with innovative ion-exchange resin capsules and bags were used to describe spatial and seasonal soil variations. Cheatgrass performance varied along a complex, multivariate soil gradient, with the strongest cheatgrass-soil relationship occurring during winter. Biogeochemical principles, soil measures, growth rates, and leaf-tissue analyses support...
Eolian dust (windblown silt and clay) and biological soil crusts are both important to ecosystem functioning of arid lands. Dust furnishes essential nutrients, influences hydrology, contributes to soil formation, and renders surfaces vulnerable to erosion. Biological soil crusts contribute directly to soil fertility by fixing carbon and nitrogen, and indirectly by trapping newly-deposited dust and stabilizing already-present soil. Results from crust-stabilized, unconsolidated sandy sediments on prominent rock exposures and grasslands show dust inputs have significantly increased all bio-essential nutrients in soils of SE Utah, including P, K, Mg, Na, and Ca. As plants can be P and K-limited in these soils, dust...
|
|
