Abstract

Eriogonum corymbosum Benth. in DC is a low-growing perennial shrub which is found in many cold temperate desert shrub regions of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.. It is a species which grows on numerous soil types and/or geological formations. Specific objectives of the investigation were to study and describe certain community relationships of ten different plant communities where E. corymbosum was found. Each community was sampled to determine the amount of ground cover, percent composition, frequency, and density of each participating species. Physical site factors viz. soil texture, total soluble salts, pH, cation exchange capacity, and amount of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium were determined. The ten communities were compared to determine the degree of similarity existing between them. Correlations between individual plant species and measureable characteristics of the community were attempted. Evidence is presented that the distributional patterns of some species are related to these measured characteristics. Eriogonum corymbosum, Chenopodium leptophyllum, Atriplex confertifolia, Stipa comata, Artemisia tridentata, and Agropyron smithii all showed correlation to both vegetational and edaphic factors of the community. The sites studied showed definite increases in total vegetative cover from the desert areas to the mountainous areas of the Uintah Basin. As the vegetative cover increased, soil depth also generally increased. Eriogonum corymbosum was shown to decrease in importance in the communities

Degree

MS

College and Department

Life Sciences; Plant and Wildlife Sciences

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

1967-08-01

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/Letd361

Keywords

Plant ecology, Uintah Basin

Language

English

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