FB1

     
                           View at site 1                                                        Typical crust at site 1

Fort Bliss, Otero Co., New Mexico, USA.  32° 29.482'N, 105° 47.840'W, elevation ca. 4795 ft.  Top of Mesa in ACEC cattle exclosure.  Has been an exclosure since the 1950's. Fairly extensive, continuous crust, but lichens are often quite patchy. Both Nostoc commune and Nostoc commune var. flagelliforme were evident in some patches.  Date of sampling:  15 July 1998.

Dominants vascular plants at the site:  Larrea tridentata, Yucca elata, Muhlenbergii torreyi.

Other plants:  Opuntia violacea, Opuntia sp. (smaller pads), Opuntia imbricata? (cholla), Opuntia sp. (pencil cholla), Hillaria, scattered creosote, Nana acourtieri (desert holly), Flourensia cirnuum (tarbush), G. sarothrae, B. gracilis, Stipa neomexicana.

Mean thickness of algal crust: 4.2 mm
Mean thickness of lichen crust: 14.2 mm

Cover summary:

Type Cover        % Cover
Shrubs                       0.0
Annuals                   0.4
Perennial grasses   30.8 (?? MUTO??)
Perennial forbs       0.0  (depending on what MUTO is)
Algal crust              38.8
Bryophytes             0.0
Lichens                    12.8
Bare Soil                  2.4
Rock                         0.4
Gravel                      0.0
Litter                        10.4
Cactus                      0.0

Chlorophyll a (ng/g): 2592.65
N fixation rate (mmol/n2/m2/hr):  1255.85
Soil texture class:  loam

FB2

  
                            View at site 2                                                    Typical crust at site 2

Fort Bliss, Otero County, New Mexico, USA.  Two miles past railroad tracks on 506, past cow sign and road to the south (right).  Large grazed area with considerable crust, but few lichens.   32° 31.249' N latitude, 105° 59.010' W longitude; elevation 4030 feet.  Date of sampling:  21 July 1998.

Dominants vascular plants at the site:  Mesquite, Tarbush, Atriplex canescens, Scleropogon brevifolius.  

Only one annual seen.  

Mean thickness of algal crust: 4.4 mm
Mean thickness of lichen crust:  12.4 mm

Cover summary:

Type Cover             % Cover
Shrubs                          8.7
Annuals                       0.7
Perennial grasses       0.7
Perennial forbs           0.0
Algal crust                 73.1
Bryophytes                 0.0
Lichens                        0.7
Bare Soil                    13.8
Rock                            0.0
Gravel                         0.0
Litter                           2.2
Cactus                         0.0

Chlorophyll a (ng/g): 6181.59
N fixation rate (mmol/n2/m2/hr):  95.11
Soil texture class:  sandy clay loam

FB3

   
                            View at site 3                                                        Typical crust at site 3

Fort Bliss, Otero County, New Mexico, USA.  Tanked area, undisturbed.  

Dominants vascular plants at the site:   Creosote, Tarbush

Mean thickness of algal crust:  8.6 mm
Mean thickness of lichen crust: 11.4 mm

Cover summary:

Type Cover        % Cover
Shrubs                      
Annuals                   
Perennial grasses  
Perennial forbs       
Algal crust             
Bryophytes            
Lichens                   
Bare Soil                 
Rock                        
Gravel                     
Litter                       
Cactus                      

Chlorophyll a (ng/g): 5169.92
N fixation rate (mmol/n2/m2/hr):  4114.26
Soil texture class:  loam