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- Title
Predicting the topographic zonation of vegetation in a salt playa in Utah, USA.
- Authors
KOIDE, ROGER T.; GARLICK, JAKOB; KLATT, SPENCER; BOEKWEG, NOAH; TAMBE, AUGUSTINE; JENSEN, KATHERINE; WEATHERHEAD, EMILY
- Abstract
Vegetation in salt playas--iconic landforms in the Great Basin of the western United States--exhibits a striking topographical zonation that has remained unexplained. In particular, a distinctive pattern is exhibited by saltsucculent species in the Amaranthaceae wherein Allenrolfea occidentalis occurs in monospecific stands at the highest topographic position in the playa, Sarcocornia utahensis occurs in monospecific stands in the middle position, and Salicornia rubra occurs in monospecific stands at the lowest topographic position. Because salt playas feature a shallow, temporary winter lake that recedes as it evaporates throughout the summer and because vegetation zones closely follow the contours of the temporary lake, we hypothesized that factors relating to the hydrology of the system could be used to predict vegetation zonation. Indeed, we found multiple environmental gradients associated with hydrology that could contribute to the topographical zonation of the 3 plant species, including gradients in soil salinity, pH, redox potential, and water content, but not soil texture. A multinomial logistic regression model incorporating soil pH, redox potential, and water content was able to predict the correct vegetation zone with 100% accuracy. Surprisingly, the gradient in soil NaCl concentration did not contribute significantly to the regression model. These results suggest that soil pH, redox potential, and water content are factors that could be further explored as niche axes that distinguish members of salt playa vegetation.
- Subjects
GREAT Basin; UTAH; REDUCTION potential; SALT; SOIL acidity; REGRESSION analysis; LOGISTIC regression analysis; EFFECT of salt on plants
- Publication
Western North American Naturalist, 2022, Vol 82, Issue 2, p378
- ISSN
1527-0904
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3398/064.082.0211