ARS | Publication request: SOIL SURFACE INDICATORS OF DESERTIFICATION FROM THE NORTHERN CHIHUAHUAN DESERT AND THE GREAT BASIN

Submitted to: International Rangeland Congress
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: July 19, 1999
Publication Date: July 19, 1999
Citation: DE SOYZA, A.G., WHITFORD, W.G., VAN ZEE, J.W., HERRICK, J.E., HAVSTAD, K.M. SOIL SURFACE INDICATORS OF DESERTIFICATION FROM THE NORTHERN CHIHUAHUAN DESERT AND THE GREAT BASIN. PROCEEDINGS OF THE VITH INTERNATIONAL RANGELAND CONGRESS. 2000. P. 137.

Technical Abstract: We measured vegetation canopy and litter cover in ungrazed exclosures and adjacent pastures at three locations in the Chihuahuan Desert, five locations near Burns, Oregon, seven locations near Milford, Utah, and six near Idaho Falls, Idaho, all of which are in the Great Basin. We found that vegetation cover is not a good surrogate for estimating litter cover. Refinements that take into account vegetation species composition may improve the ability to predict litter cover from vegetation data.