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History of repeat photography, vegetation, precipitation and dust emission at Crucero
View repeat photography of the stations
By Robert Fulton, California State University Desert Studies Center
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Latitude: 35° 02.981'N
Longitude: 116° 09.133'W
Elevation: 1010 ft (308 m)
This site is located about 0.3 km north of the Union Pacific R.R. tracks at Crucero Hill, at an elevation of approximately 308 m. This location is within the boundary of late Pleistocene Lake Mojave, and about 7.5 km SSW of Soda Dry Lake playa. The site today is on the southern edge of the Mojave River fan-delta, just before it makes a northward turn into Soda Lake Basin, and is within the Kelso wilderness area of the Mojave National Preserve. The site is characterized by low coppice-like mounds anchored by saltbush (Atriplex spp.), with intervening areas of wind-scoured ground. The site appears to be within a slight depression relative to the surrounding area. The area around the site is marked by mixed stands of creosote bush (Larrea tridentada) and saltbush, and punctuated by occasional coppice dunes dominated by honey mesquite (Propsopis glandulosa), the nearest of which is 57 m from the site's center.
The results of the line-intercept transects are summarized in Table 1.
1introduced annual grass, dead but persisting during sampling |
Of the three CLIM-MET sites sampled, this site had the highest percent of vegetation cover at 16.37%, primarily owing to the presence of the non-native annual grass S. barbatus, which accounted for about 48% of the vegetation cover measured. As occurred at the other sites, S. barbatus often formed an understory beneath perennial shrubs, resulting in a total coverage value of 102.48%. This overage of 2.48% represents this understory, and represents about a third of S. barbatus recorded. Another non-native annual, Salsola tragus (tumbleweed) was common on the site, and accounted for about 19% of the vegetation cover. Therefore, introduced annual species accounted for about 67% of the plant cover on this plot. Dune primrose (Oenothera d. deltoides) was common on the plot, and as with other annuals measured in this study, is underestimated with respect to its potential ground coverage during growth in wet years (see comments elsewhere).
The evergreen shrub Atriplex polycarpa dominated the perennial vegetation on this plot (about 19% of all cover). The frequency data, together with observations in the field, indicate a normal (random) dispersion for A. polycarpa across the site. This also appears true for the deceased Atriplex recorded. The congener A. c. canescens was present in only 5% of transect sections, and accounted for <5% of perennial coverage, and <1% of all vegetation cover. Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) was present on the plot but did not fall within a transect.
No living animal species were directly observed during the site visit. The species present, as indicated by indirect means, are given in Table 2.
1area just north of vegetation plot |
The comments on birds for the other sites apply here as well, with the possibility that owl species (Tytonidae and Strigidae) may hunt here, given the opportunity for roost sites in the tamarisk trees along the railroad. Other vertebrates potentially occurring are listed below.
coyote (Canus latrans)
blacktailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
kit fox (Vulpes macrotis arsipus)
gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus scotii)1
deer mice (Peromyscus sp.)
Botta pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae providentialis)2
bobcat (Felis rufus baileyi)
Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia)
zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)
side-blotched lizard (Uta stansuriana stejnegeri)
long-tailed brush lizard (Urosaurus graciosus graciosus)
desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum)
sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes cerastes)
coachwhip snake (Masticorphis flagellum piceus)
gopher snake (Pituophis melanleucus deserticola)
shovel-nosed snake (Chionactis occipitalis)
night snake (Hypsiglena torquata deserticola)
glossy snake (Arizona elegans eburnata)
Western patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis)
spotted leaf-nosed snake (Phyllorhynchus decuriatus perkinsi)
1tree-lined R.R. corridor with water available increase likelihood of migration through area
2reported elsewhere in Mojave River fan-delta
3occurrence enhanced by water availability along R.R. and cottontail rabbits associated with mesquite
4occurrence enhanced by coppice dunes (mesquite) and climbing dunes (Crucero Hill) in the vicinity
Invertebrates at this site would be similar to those discussed elsewhere, with possible species enrichment due to the adjacent Creosote Bush Scrub and mesquite dune habitat.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/info/sw/clim-met/crucero.html
Page Contact Information: ESP Web Team
Page Last Modified: Thu 11-May-2006 14:14:14 MDT
