What Is The Basis For Plant Communities?

• It is easy to understand why the basalt mesas at the SRP are grassland: the extremely-heavy clay soil rots the roots of our native shrubs and trees, which are adapted for well-drained soil on slopes.

  In addition, the soil depth is relatively shallow, and the basalt is a poor water storage rock, so there is insufficient moisture available to a shrub or tree.

  In fact, plants on the basalt are in general stunted in growth. The same species often grow twice as large on the slopes of the mesas as on the mesas. I was shocked to see my first muilla outside the SRP; it was at least ten times taller!

http://tchester.org/srp/plants/communities/10e.html Comments and feedback: Tom Chester Last update: 6 November 2005.

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