Browsing Desert Plants, Volume 9, Number 1 (1988) by Authors
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Geomorphology and the Distributional Ecology of Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) in a Desert Riparian CanyonDBH data were taken from Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) in a desert riparian canyon in west -central Arizona. Recruitment was found to depend on geomorphologic features and flood "refugia" rather than on the absence of grazing. Populus fremontii is specifically a "strandline," streamside species, particularly of braided aggradations and their associated secondary channels, a microhabitat that ultimately depends on upstream and upslope erosion. The concept of flood -subclimax succession explains virtually nothing of the ecology of obligate riparian trees. Riparian classification based upon geomorphology and hydrology are apt to have significant meaning for biogeography and management.
