Distribution of Organic Matter Reserve in a Desert Shrub Community

Download or read book Distribution of Organic Matter Reserve in a Desert Shrub Community written by Ralph C. Holmgren and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a community of widely spaced perennials, mostly shrubs, in the cold desert of western Utah, total accumulated organic mass (excluding the small amount of humus) is about 1,770g./m.2. Of this total, 240 g. are above the ground and 1,530 g. below. Of the latter, 295 g. is underground litter. About half of the 1,235 g. of roots are in the surface 30 cm. of the soil, about 0.3 of them in the second 30 cm., 0.15 in the third, 0.03 in the fourth, and 0.01 of them occur below 120 cm. to about 135 cm. Coarce roots (> 2 mm. in diameter) are found only in the immediate vicinity of plants and are unimportant below the 15-cm. depth. Fine (