Treesearch

The relationship between Lehmann lovegrass, an invasive African grass, and native Southwestern grasses has not been fully determined. The first purpose of this study was to compare the survival of Lehmann lovegrass with two native grasses (plains lovegrass and Arizona cottontop) seeded on the Santa Rita Experimental Range in southeast Arizona in 1994. One year after establishment, survival was 92 percent for plains lovegrass, 90 percent for Arizona cottontop, and 92 percent for Lehmann lovegrass. High survival was maintained until the second summer of the study, when many plants that were...

The International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC) was established in 1990 to promote research, education, and training activities related to the development, management, and reclamation of arid and semiarid lands in the Southwestern United States, the Middle East, and elsewhere in the world. The Consortium supports the ecological sustainability and environmentally sound stewardship of these lands in continuing to increase the knowledge base for managers and land owners. Research and development efforts that relate to the IALC's mission are incubated at research centers of its member institutio...

A soil survey and rangeland resource inventory of the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) was conducted by staff from the Tucson office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) during April and May of 1997. Thirty-two soils series and taxadjuncts were mapped on the SRER and delineated in 24 different mapping units. These soils all occur in an Aridic and Ustic moisture regime and span three precipitation zones, and all soils are in the thermic soil temperature regime. Soil series and mapping unit descriptions are provided. The rangeland inventory and the soil map correlate...

Effects of an illegal burn on the Santa Rita Experimental Range on mesquite (Prosopis velutina) survival in the semidesert grass-shrub ecosystem was initially assessed in terms of firedamage classes 18 months after the fire and again 8 years after the burn. While many of the mesquite trees on the burned site were damaged by the fire, some of the trees appear to have recovered to preburn conditions. The effects of the burn on mesquite stocking characteristics and sprouting mortality were also determined from the latter assessment. Results obtained from the 8-year assessment add to the...

We know more about vegetation change on the Santa Rita Experimental Range since 1903 than is known about any other 20,000-ha area in the world. This record is only possible because important techniques of measuring vegetation changes were developed on the Santa Rita, such as repeat photography and the line intercept transect method, and because they were applied often and broadly. A 100-year record of experiments and systematic observations nourishes the interpretation of these changes. Together, they describe a steady increase of mesquite trees, four cycles of burroweed eruption and...

The Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) was established in 1903 at the behest of concerned stockmen and researchers as the first facility in the United States set aside to study range livestock production. At the time, severe overgrazing of the public domain had seriously reduced carrying capacities of Southwestern rangelands. Researchers on the SRER developed and demonstrated the concepts that became the foundation for the art and science of range management. These included improved livestock husbandry methods and an initial understanding of how grazing behavior influenced patterns of...

Improving management practices have been at the core of most research conducted in the semidesert grass-shrub vegetation on the Santa Rita Experimental Range. Much of this research has been directed to sustaining forage resources through proper livestock grazing and controlling the invasion of competing woody plants, primarily mesquite. Both research orientations require an understanding of the basic ecological requirements and dynamics of the plant species on the Experimental Range. Cattle grazing system based on seasonal grazing and periodic rest periods have been able to improve the...

The Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER), established in 1903, is a natural laboratory used to better understand desert grasslands. We reviewed the literature to summarize studies that have been conducted on wildlife at SRER from 1903 to 2002 and to provide recommendations on expanding contemporary research at SRER. Research related to wild vertebrates has been limited to a few studies of reptiles, avifauna, and mammals. Mammalian studies were dominated by rodent research. Peer-reviewed publications dominated the references (n = 45), followed by technical bulletins (n = 12), theses (n = 9)...

The Santa Rita Experimental Range is a vast open space with few signs of houses or human habitation, but at one time it was quite the opposite scene. Archaeological surface inspections reveal heavy use of the Range dating back hundreds of years. This paper will review the history of cultural resource management on the Range and provide a timeline of local cultural history pertinent to understanding the cultural landscape on the west flank of the Santa Rita Mountains. An archaeological site inventory done by Cynthia Buttery in 1985 and 1986 will be the central focus of this paper. Buttery's...

This paper discusses the revegetation activites on the Santa Rita Experimental Range since 1903. Revegetation research includes experiments to evaluate adaptation, seedbed preparation, and sowing methods. We also discuss criteria used to determine if a site has the potential for a successful revegetation. Successful revegetation was initially based on plant emergence and establishment but not persistence. Plants in successful plantings typically died or the initial stand declined substantially within about 10 years. Revegetation trials typically used native and introduced species. However,...