Record Details
An ecological reconnaissance of the artemisia steppe on the east central Owyee uplands of Oregon
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | An ecological reconnaissance of the artemisia steppe on the east central Owyee uplands of Oregon |
| Names |
Culver, Roger Norman
(creator) Poulton, Charles E. (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1964-05-13 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1964 |
| Abstract | As the management of range lands is intensified or as improvement activity is increased, a critical need is seen to refine the understanding of the ecology of these lands. If soil surveys on range lands are to be meaningful and useful, the relationship between the fundamental ecological units and the taxonomic soil units must be clearly understood. This refined understanding of range resources is prerequisite to success in resource inventory (whether by range site, soils, or vegetation and soils mapping), in condition and trend measurement, and in wise location of range improvement projects. The urgent need for this knowledge of range ecology led to this study as a test of a simpler and faster ecological method for the accumulation of interpretable facts on the ecology of the Artemisia steppe vegetation. Using reconnaissance methods, vegetation and soils were studied together in the east central Owyhee Uplands near Jordan Valley, Oregon. Qualitative vegetation data, soil profile descriptions and information concerning other physical environmental factors were recorded at each study location. Following the polyclimax and habitat -type concepts of ecology the vegetation of the study area was resolved into eight homogeneous vegetation units as phytometers of their respective environment as follows: Artemisia tridentata /Agropyron spicatum association, Artemisia tridentata /Agropyron spicatum association, Festuca idahoensis phase, Artemisia tridentata /Festuca idahoensis association, Artemisia tridentata /Elymus cinereus association, Artemisia tridentata - Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus /Stipa thurberiana associes, Artemisia rigida /Poa secunda association, Artemisia arbuscula /Festuca idahoensis association, Artemisia arbuscula / Agropyron spicatum association. A key to the field recognition of these habitat -types is presented. These plant communities are related to ten soil series which include soils of the Brown Great Soil Group, Minimal Brown soils, and one Lithosol. With the exception of one community, Artemisia tridentata /Elymus cinereus association, excellent relationships were found to exist between the independently developed vegetation and soils classification units. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Ecology -- Oregon |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/48964 |
