|
|
Big Sagebrush, Artemisia
tridentata
| Many-branched, erect shrub, strongly
aromatic |
| Height: |
usually up to 6 feet |
| Leaves: |
Grayish-green, 0.5-1.75 inches long, 3 teeth
at tip of leaf |
| Flowers: |
Yellowish to greenish-gray, small |
|
|
|
|
|
Rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus
nauseosus
| Shrub with erect, slender branches covered
with dense hair |
| Height: |
up to 7 feet |
| Leaves: |
Very narrow, 0.75-3 inches long |
| Flowers: |
Yellow, slender, 0.25-0.5 inches high |
|
|
Blackbrush, Coleogyne
ramosissima
| Densely branched, spiny shrub, dark gray to
black bark, opposite branches |
| Height: |
1.5-6 feet |
| Leaves: |
gray, linear, 0.5 inches long, covered with
hairs |
| Flowers: |
dry, glabrous, dry |
|
 |
|
|
Mormon Tea, Ephedra
spp.
| Medium-sized shrub with jointed green,
apparently leafless branches with conspicuous nodes. |
| Height: |
more than 4 feet |
| Leaves: |
scalelike, 2-3 leaves per node |
| Flowers: |
small cones |
|
| Indian Ricegrass, Oryzopsis
hymenoides
| Densely tufted, leafy, erect bunchgrass |
| Height: |
7-18 inches |
| Leaves: |
dark green, bent along midrib |
| Fruit: |
lacy looking panicle, seeds on ends of
divided, wavy branches |
|
 |
|
|
Buckbrush Alluvial Fan
Plant Distribution Results
|
|
| Location: |
South of Carson City, Nevada on US
HWY 385, left on Stephanie Way to Johnson Lane Park |
On November 2, 1998, six transects, using a ten by ten foot
grid system, were taken to record soil characteristics and plant abundance and height.
The adjacent topographic map shows the location of each sample site. The
alluvial fan increases in elevation and soil grain size from west to east. Soil
water is inversely proportional to grain size; therefore, available water decreases as
grain size increases. Different plant species require different regimes of soil
water for survival. Therefore, plant height and abundance will vary along the
alluvial fan. |
 |
 |
 |
| The above graph illustrates the height variation
within different plant species as the elevation and grain size increase along the fan.
(See the topographic map for sample locations) |
The above graph illustrates how
abundance of a plant species varies as the elevation and grain size increase along the
fan. (See the topographic map for sample locations) |
