Chapter 6. Climate and terrain

Abstract

Our knowledge of the physical requirements of cultivated plants is far advanced in contrast to that of the native and introduced species used in range plantings. Cultivated plants are usually grown as single varieties of a species under specific controlled conditions to ensure maximum yields. Native and introduced range plants often grow in species mixtures on sites that are more variable than agricultural croplands. Our knowledge of the specific requirements of individual species or varieties may not always apply with respect to interspecific competition or to the widely varying wildlands now being reclaimed or rehabilitated. Data obtained by growing native and introduced species in pure stands are only partially applicable to stand mixtures because the requirements for a species in a pure stand often differ from its needs when competing with other plant species. At present, we understand little of the effects of competition, let alone the complex interaction of climate, soil, and terrain upon which our native plant species grow (Hansen and Churchill 1961).

Parent Publication

• Restoring Western Ranges and Wildlands, vol. 1

Citation

Davis, James N. 2004. Chapter 6. Climate and terrain. In: Monsen, Stephen B.; Stevens, Richard; Shaw, Nancy L., comps. Restoring western ranges and wildlands, vol. 1. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-136-vol-1. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 33-38