Fire and Changes in Creosote Bush Scrub of the Western Sonoran Desert, California

摘要: Seven years of above normal precipitation between 1976 and 1983 encouraged heavy growth native annuals exotic grasses in the western Sonoran Desert. Unprecedented fires creosote bush scrub started mostly after 1978. Analysis several burns near Palm Springs revealed that most shrubs, including Larrrea tridentata, Ambrosia dumosa Opuntia spp., are poorly adapted to relatively low intensity as evidenced by limited sprouting reproduction. These shrubs were replaced open stands Encelia farinosa, ephemerals, European exotics, Bromus rubens Schismus barbatus. The rapid selective thinning species suggests modern biogeography this ecosystem may be controlled, part, recurrent burning.