Comparing Dynamics of Mixed-Conifer Woodlands On the Bandera Lava Flow, New Mexico

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2014

Department

Geography and Geology

School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Abstract

We hypothesized that vegetative changes would be visible in a series of repeat photographs (1948-2010) taken at the edge of the Bandera Lava Flow, New Mexico, while inventory of trees and data on age would reveal minimal structural and compositional changes at a woodland site on the inaccessible interior of the lava flow. We concluded that the insular qualities of the volcanic badlands resulted in minimal changes at the interior site during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, while noticeable vegetative changes occurred at the periphery of the Bandera Lava Flow during the same period. Vegetative changes at the lava-substrate interface could be linked to variability in use of land, management of fire, and precipitation.

Publication Title

Southwestern Naturalist

Volume

59

Issue

2

First Page

235

Last Page

243

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