The Distribution of ORCUTTIA CALIFORNICA (Poaceae) in the Vernal Pools of the Santa Rosa Plateau, Riverside County, California

<p>Ecological studies were conducted on the rare annual grass Orcuttia californica (Vasey), an endemic to California, from April to September, 1976 in 11 vernal pools located on the Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County. To help determine why Orcutt grass occurs in only 6 of the 11 pools and more specifically why it only occurs in patches within a given pool, biweekly measurements of frequency, density and phenology were taken within each of a total of 28 circular plots (r = 10 meters) in 5 pools. This data was related to concurrent biweekly measurements of soil moisture, soil texture and microrelief of each plot, area and order of desiccation of each pool. Frequency and density show no correlation to soil moisture, soil texture, and area. There is, however, a positive correlation between occurrence of the study species and the (1) order in which the pools become desiccated; and (2) average depth of plot. This is probably related to the germination requirement of the seeds having to be submerged for a minimum amount of time. Also under different soil moisture conditions there seem to be differences in the time sequences of the phenological events.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Year

1977

Author dc:creator

• Stagg, Cluney M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Earl W. Lathrop
• Raymond E. Ryckman
• Donald D. Rafuse

• Biology
• Botany
• Grasses -- California -- Riverside County; Grasses -- Research

Statement dc:rights

• This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/932

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-1894