Validation of a primary production model of the desert shrub Larrea tridentata using soil-moisture augmentation experiments.

In previous papers we have described and verified a primary production model of the desert shrub Larrea tridentata. Here we address the validation phase of the evaluation of this model. Two versions of the model which differ in the priority scheme used for allocating carbon to reproductive or vegetative organs were compared on the basis of their usefulness and reliability over a range of soil-moisture conditions. Over an entire growing season when soil-moisture conditions were near "normal" both versions of the model were adequate predictors of total above-ground vegetative growth and one was an adequate predictor of reproductive growth as well. A more detailed analysis revealed that the versions varied in the range of soil-moisture conditions over which they were adequate and that neither was adequate when soil-moisture had remained high for extended periods. The validation process has revealed some likely areas for model improvement to increase adequacy.

Conopy architecture of Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov., a desert shrub: foliage orientation and direct beam radiation interception.

At sites in the United States, creosote bushes (Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov.) orient foliage clusters predominantly toward the southeast. Foliage of bushes at the southernmost distribution extreme in Mexico shows no predominant orientation. Clusters at all sites are inclined between 33° and 71° from the horizontal. Inclinations are steeper in the drier and hotter Mojave Desert than in the Chihuahuan Desert. Individual leaflets, though not measured, appear more randomly oriented than foliage clusters. In several populations studied, branches were shorter in the southeastern sectors of the crown, reducing self-shading early in the morning. Measurements of direct beam radiation interception by detached branches, using digital image processing, indicated that foliage clusters oriented toward the southeast exhibited less self-shading during spring mornings than clusters oriented northeast. This effect was not apparent at the summer solstice. This type of canopy architecture may tend to minimize self-shading during the morning hours when conditions are more favorable for photosynthesis, resulting in an improved daily water use efficiency.