Abstract
The area dominated by the shrubs creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) and mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) in the American southwest has increased several-fold over the last century, with a corresponding decrease in areal coverage of productive grasslands and increased surface soil erosion throughout the region. The factors thought to be responsible for this regional shift in vegetation are: (1) overgrazing by domestic livestock; (2) fire suppression; and (3) historical changes in climate. We examine the evidence concerning each of these factors and develop a synthetic model outlining the principles affecting shrubland encroachment, which focuses on life history characteristics of the dominant shrubs and a number of positive biotic and edaphic feedback mechanisms contributing to their establishment and persistence. We conclude that the expansion of shrub dominance that has occurred over the last century may have been triggered by extreme live-stock overgrazing at the end of the nineteenth century, which coincided with rainfall regimes that were unfavorable for perennial grass growth. Hence, the landscape we observe today may be a product of positive feedback mechanisms triggered over a century ago by management practices that were uninformed with regard to the importance of historical climate patterns and the life history characteristics of important rangeland species. Our consideration of these issues also addresses potential land surface - climate interactions that could occur as a result of regional alterations in vegetation dominance and physiognomy.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bahre, V. J.: 1985, ‘Wildfire in Southeastern Arizona Between 1859 and 1890’, Desert Plants 7, 190–194.
Balling, R. C. Jr.: 1988, ‘The Climatic Impact of a Sonoran Vegetation Discontinuity’, Climatic Change 13, 99–109.
Barbour, M. G.: 1968, ‘Germination Requirements of the Desert Shrub Larrea divaricata’, Ecology 49, 915–923.
Barbour, M. G.: 1969, ‘Age and Space Distribution of the Desert Shrub Larrea divaricata’, Ecology 50, 679–685.
Barbour, M. G., Cunningham, C., Oechel, W. C., and Bamberg, S. A.: 1977, ‘Growth and Development, Form and Function’, in Mabry, T. J., Hunziker, J. H. and DiFeo, D. R. Jr. (eds.), Creosotebush: Biology and Chemistry of Larrea in New World Deserts, Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pp. 48–91.
Barth, R. C. and Klemmedson, J. O.: 1978, ‘Shrub Induced Spatial Patterns of Dry Matter, Nitrogen, and Organic Carbon’, Soil Science Society of America Journal 42, 804–809.
Beatley, J. C.: 1974a, ‘Effects of Rainfall and Temperature on the Distribution and Behavior of Larrea tridentata (Creosotebush) in the Mojave Desert of Nevada’, Ecology 55, 245–261.
Beatley, J. C.: 1974b, ‘Phenological Events and Their Environmental Triggers in Mojave Desert Ecosystems’, Ecology 55, 856–863.
Beck, R. F. and Tober, D. A.: 1985, Vegetational Changes on Creosotebush Sites after Removal of Shrubs, Cattle, and Rabbits, New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 717, Las Cruces.
Bentley, H. L.: 1898, Cattle Ranges of the Southwest: A History of the Exhaustion of the Pasturage and Suggestions for its Restoration, U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin No. 72, Washington D.C.
Berkofsky, L.: 1976, ‘The Effect of Variable Surface Albedo on Atmospheric Circulation in Desert Regions’, Journal of Applied Meteorology 15, 1139–1144.
Bogusch, E. R.: 1951, ‘Climatic limits affecting distribution of mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) in Texas’, Texas Journal of Science 3, 554–558.
Branscomb, B. L.: 1958, ‘Shrub Invasion of a Southern New Mexico Desert Grassland Range’, Journal of Range Management 11, 129–132.
Branson, F. A.: 1985, Vegetation Changes on Western Rangelands, Range Monograph No. 2, Society for Range Management, Denver, CO.
Breed, C. S., Musick, H. B., Gillette, D. A., Skidmore, E. L., and McCauley, J. F.: 1985, Effects of Eolian Processes on Surface Properties of Semiarid Lands, Proposal to NASA.
Brown, A. L.: 1950, ‘Shrub Invasion of Southern Arizona Desert Grassland’, Journal of Range Management 3, 172–177.
Bryan, K.: 1925, ‘Date of Channel Trenching (Arroyo Cutting) in the Arid Southwest’, Science 62, 336–344.
Bryan, K.: 1928, ‘Historic Evidence of Changes in the Channel of Rio Puerco, a Tributary of the Rio Grande in New Mexico’, Journal of Geology 36, 265–282.
Bryson, R. A., Hayden, B., Mitchell, V., and Webb, T. III: 1970, ‘Some Aspects of Ecological Climatology of the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico’, in Wright, R. G. and Van Dyna, G. M. (eds.), Simulation and Analysis of Dynamics of a Semi-Desert Grassland, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Fort Collins, Colorado, pp. 12–174.
Buffington, L. C. and Herbel, C. H.: 1965, ‘Vegetational Changes on a Semidesert Grassland Range from 1858 to 1963’, Ecological Monographs 35, 139–164.
Cable, D. R. and Martin, S. C.: 1973, ‘Invasion of Semidesert Grassland by Velvet Mesquite and Associated Vegetation Changes’, Journal of the Arizona Academy of Science 8, 127–134.
Charney, J. G.: 1975, ‘Dynamics of Deserts and Droughts in the Sahel’, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 101, 193–202.
Chew, R. M. and Chew, A. E.: 1965, ‘The Primary Productivity of a Desert Shrub (Larrea tridentata) Community’, Ecological Monographs 35, 355–375.
Clark, S. B., Letey, J. Jr., Lunt, O. R., and Wallace, A.: 1974, ‘Survival of Selected Desert Shrubs Under Dry Soil Conditions’, California Agriculture 28, 14–15.
Cooke, R. U. and Reeves, R. W.: 1976, Arroyos and Environmental Change in the American South-West, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Cooperrider, C. K. and Hendricks, B. A.: 1937, Soil Erosion and Stream Flow on Range and Forest Lands of the Upper Rio Grande Watershed in Relation to Land Resources and Human Welfare, U.S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin No. 567, Washington D.C.
Cox, J. R., Martin, R., M. H., Ibarra-E, F. A., and Morion, H. L.: 1986, ‘Establishment of Range Grasses on Various Seedbeds at Creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) Sites in Arizona, U.S.A. and Chihuahua, Mexico’, Journal of Range Management 39, 540–546.
Crawford, C. S. and Gosz, J. R.: 1986, ‘Dynamics of Desert Resources and Ecosystem Processes’, in Polunin, N. (ed.), Ecosystem Theory and Application, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., pp. 181–195.
Dalton, P. D. Jr.: 1961, Ecology of the Creosotebush (Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov.), Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Dickinson, R. E.: 1983, ‘Land Surface Processes and Climate: Surface Albedo and Energy Balance’, Advances in Geophysics 25, 305–353.
Duce, J. T.: 1918, ‘The Effect of Cattle on the Erosion of Canyon Bottoms’, Science 47, 450–452.
Dyksterhuis, E. J.: 1958, ‘Ecological Principles in Range Evaluation’, Botanical Review 24, 253–257.
Evans, D. D., Sammis, T. W., and Cable, D. R.: 1981, ‘Actual Evapotranspiration Under Desert Conditions’, in Evans, D. D. and Thames, J. L. (eds.), Water in Desert Ecosystems, Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pp. 195–218.
Evans, D. D. and Thames, J. L.: 1981, ‘Desert Hydrologic Systems’, in Evans, D. D. and Thames, J. L. (eds.), Water in Desert Ecosystems, Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pp. 265–272.
Felger, R. S.: 1977, ‘Mesquite in Indian Cultures of Southwestern North America’, in Simpson, B. B. (ed.), Mesquite: Its Biology in Two Desert Shrub Ecosystems, Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Stroudsburg PA, pp. 150–176.
Fisher, C. E.: 1947, Present Information on the Mesquite Problem, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Progress Report 1056.
Fisher, C. E.: 1977, ‘Mesquite and Modern Man in Southwestern North America’, in Simpson, B. B. (ed.), Mesquite: Its Biology in Two Desert Scrub Ecosystems, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, pp. 177–188.
Gardner, J. L.: 1951, ‘Vegetation of the Creosotebush Area of the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico’, Ecological Monographs 21, 379–403.
Garrison, G. L. and McDaniel, K. C.: 1982, New Mexico Brush Inventory, New Mexico Department of Agriculture Special Report No. 1, Las Cruces.
Gibbens, R. P., Tromble, J. M., Hennessy, J. T., and Cardenas, M.: 1983, ‘Soil Movement in Mesquite Dunelands and Former Grasslands of Southern New Mexico from 1933 to 1980’, Journal of Range Management 36, 145–148.
Gile, L. H.: 1966, ‘Coppice Dunes and the Rotura Soil’, Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 30, 657–660.
Gile, L. H. and Grossman, R. B.: 1979, The Desert Project Soil Monograph, U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service.
Glendening, G. E. and Paulsen, H. E.: 1955, Reproduction and Establishment of Velvet Mesquite as Related to Invasion of Semidesert Grasslands, Forest Service, USDA Tech Bull 1127 Washington D.C., pp. 1–50.
Gould, W. L.: 1982, ‘Wind Erosion Curtailed by Controlling Mesquite’, Journal of Range Management 35, 563–566.
Griffiths, D.: 1910, A Protected Stock Range in Arizona, USDA Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 177.
Gross, F. A. and Dick-Peddie, W. A.: 1979, ‘A Map of Primeval Vegetation in New Mexico’, Southwestern Naturalist 24, 115–122.
Hallmark, C. T. and Allen, B. L.: 1975, ‘The Distribution of Creosotebush in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico as Affected by Selected Soil Properties’, Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 39, 120–124.
Hastings, J. R. and Turner, R. M.: 1965, The Changing Mile: An Ecological Study of Vegetation Change With Time in the Lower Mile of an Arid and Semiarid Region, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.
Hennessy, J. T., Gibbens, R. P., Tromble, J. M., and Cardenas, M.: 1985, ‘Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) Dunes and Interdunes in Southern New Mexico: A Study in Soil Properties and Water Relations’, Journal of Arid Environments 9, 27–38.
Hennessy, J. T., Gibbens, R. P., Tromble, J. M., and Cardenas, M.: 1983, ‘Vegetation Changes from 1935 to 1980 in Mesquite Dunelands and Former Grasslands of Southern New Mexico’, Journal of Range Management 36, 370–374.
Herbel, C. H., Ares, F. N., and Wright, R. A.: 1972, ‘Drought Effects on a Semidesert Grassland Range’, Ecology 53, 1084–1093.
Houghton, J. G.: 1979, ‘A Model for Orographic Precipitation in the North-Central Great Basin’, Monthly Weather Review 107, 1462–1475.
Humphrey, R. R.: 1958, ‘The Desert Grassland: A History of Vegetational Change and an Analysis of Causes’, Botanical Review 24, 195–252.
Hunziker, J. H., Palacios, R. A., Poggio, L., Naranjo, C. A., and Yang, T. W.: 1977, ‘Geographic distribution, Morphology, Hybridization, Cytogenetics and Evolution’, in Mabry, T. J., Hunziker, J. H. and DiFeo, D. R. (eds.), Creosotebush: Biology and Chemistry of Larrea in New World Deserts, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, pp. 10–47.
Jackson, R. D. and Idso, S. B.: 1975, ‘Surface Albedo and Desertification’, Science 189, 1013–1015.
Johnston, M. C.: 1963, ‘Past and Present Grasslands of Southern Texas and Northeastern Mexico’, Ecology 44, 456–466.
Leopold, L. B.: 1951a, ‘Rainfall Frequency: An Aspect of Climatic Variation’, Transactions American Geophysical Union 32, 347–357.
Leopold, L. B.: 1951b, ‘Vegetation of Southwestern Watersheds in the Nineteenth Century’, Geographical Review 41, 295–316.
Lettau, H.: 1969, ‘Evapotranspiration Climatonomy: I. A New Approach to Numerical Prediction of Monthly Evapotranspiration, Runoff, and Soil Moisture Storage’, Monthly Weather Review 97, 691–699.
Lockwood, J. G.: 1983, ‘The influence of Vegetation on the Earth's Climate’, Progress in Physical Geography 7, 81–89.
Maker, H. J., Dregne, H. E., Link, V. G., and Anderson, J. U.: 1974, Soils of New Mexico, New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report 285, Las Cruces.
McCraw, D. J.: 1985, A Phytogeographic History of Larrea in Southwestern New Mexico Illustrating the Historical Expansion of the Chihuahuan Desert, M.S. thesis, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N. M.
McLaughlin, S. P. and Bowers, J. E.: 1982, ‘Effects of Wildfire on a Sonoran Desert Plant Community’, Ecology 63, 246–248.
Musick, H. B.: 1977, The Physiological Basis for Calcicoly of Larrea divaricata, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Musick, H. B.: 1978, ‘Phosphorus Toxicity in Seedlings of Larrea divaricata Grown in Solution Culture’, Botanical Gazette 139, 108–111.
Nicholson, S. E.: 1988, ‘Land Surface Atmosphere Interaction: Physical Processes and Surface Changes and Their Impact’, Progress in Physical Geography 12, 36–65.
Norris, J. J.: 1950, Effect of Rodents, Rabbits, and Cattle on Two Vegetation Types in Semidesert Rangeland, New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 353, Las Cruces.
Otterman, J.: 1981, ‘Satellite and Field Studies of Man's Impact on the Surface in Arid Regions’, Tellus 33, 68–77.
Otterman, J.: 1975, ‘Reply [to Jackson, R. D. and Idso, S. B., Surface Albedo and Desertification’], Science 189, 1013–1015.
Otterman, J.: 1974, ‘Baring High-Albedo Soils by Overgrazing: A Hypothesized Desertification Mechanism’, Science 186, 531–533.
Parker, K. W. and Martin, S. C.: 1952, The Mesquite Problem on Southern Arizona Ranges, U.S. Department of Agriculture Circular 908, Washington D.C.
Paulsen, H. A.: 1950, ‘Mortality of Velvet Mesquite Seedlings’, Journal of Range Management 3, 281–286.
Paulsen, H. A.: 1953, ‘A Comparison of Surface Soil Properties Under Mesquite and Perennial Grass’, Ecology 34, 727–732.
Platt, K. B.: 1959, ‘Plant Control - Some Possibilities and Limitations; I. The Challenge to Management’, Journal of Range Management 12, 64–68.
Reynolds, H. G. and Bohning, J. W.: 1956, ‘Effects of Burning on a Desert Grass-Shrub Range in Southern Arizona’, Ecology 37, 769–777.
Rivera, R. L. and Freeman, C. E.: 1979, ‘The Effects of Some Alternating Temperatures on Germination of Creosotebush (Larrea tridentata [DC] Cov.: Zygophyllacea)’, Southwestern Naturalist 24, 711–714.
Sellers, W. D.: 1960, ‘Precipitation Trends in Arizona and Western New Mexico’, in Proceedings of the 28th Annual Snow Conference, pp. 81–94.
Schickedanz, J. G.: 1980, ‘History of Grazing in the Southwest’, in McDaniel, K. and Allison, C. (eds.), Proceedings: Grazing Management Systems for Southwest Rangelands, April 1980, Albuquerque, New Mexico: Range Improvement Task Force, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, pp. 1–9.
Schlesinger, W. H., Reynolds, J. F., Cunningham, G. L., Huenneke, L. F., Jarrell, W. M., Virginia, R. A., and Whitford, W. G.: 1990, ‘Biological Feedbacks in Global Desertification’, Science 247, 1043–1048.
Schlesinger, W. H., Fonteyn, P. J., and Marion, G. M.: 1987, ‘Soil Moisture Content and Plant Transpiration in the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico’, Journal of Arid Environments 12, 119–126.
Scifres, C. J., Brock, J. H., and Hahn, R. R.: 1971, ‘Influence of Secondary Succession on Honey Mesquite Invasion in North Texas’, Journal of Range Management 24, 206–210.
Sheps, L. O.: 1973, ‘Survival of Larrea tridentata S. & M. seedlings in Death Valley National Monument, California’, Israel Journal of Botany 22, 8–17.
Shreve, F.: 1940, ‘The Edge of the Desert’, Yearbook, Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 6, 6–11.
Skujins, J. J.: 1981, ‘Nitrogen Cycling in Arid Ecosystems’, in Clark, F. E. and Rosswall, T. (eds.), Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles, Ecological Bulletin (Stockholm) 33, pp 477–491.
Thornber, J. J.: 1910, The Grazing Ranges of Arizona, University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 65.
Tiedemann, A. R. and Klemmedson, J. O.: 1973, ‘Effect of Mesquite on Physical and Chemical Properties of the Soil’, Journal of Range Management 26, 27–29.
Valentine, K. A. and Gerard, J. B.: 1968, Life-History Characteristics of the Creosotebush, Larrea tridentata, New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 526, Las Cruces.
Van Devender, T. R. and Spaulding, W. G.: 1979, ‘Development of Vegetation and Climate in the Southwestern United States’, Science 204, 701–710.
Vasek, F. C.: 1980, ‘Creosotebush: Long-lived Clones in the Mojave Desert’, American Journal of Botany 67, 246–255.
Vogl, R. J.: 1974, ‘Effects of Fire on Grasslands’, in Kozlowski, T. T. and Ahlgren, C. E. (eds.), Fire and Ecosystems, Academic Press, New York, pp. 139–194.
Wallace, A. and Romney, E. M.: 1972, Radioecology and Ecophysiology of Desert Plants at the Nevada Test Site, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Office of Information Services Report TID-25954, Washington D.C.
Walker, B. H., Ludwig, D., Holling, C. S., and Peterman, R. M.: 1981, ‘Stability of Semi-Arid Savannah Grazing Systems’, Journal of Ecology 69, 473–498.
Warren, P. L. and Hutchinson, C. F.: 1984, ‘Indicators of Rangeland Change and their Potential for Remote Sensing’, Journal of Arid Environments 7, 107–126.
Webb, W. L., Laurenroth, W. K., Szarek, S. R., and Kinerson, R. S.: 1983, ‘Primary Production and Abiotic Controls in Forests, Grasslands, and Desert Ecosystems in the United States’, Ecology 64, 134–151.
Wendler, G. and Eaton, F.: 1983, ‘On the Desertification of the Sahel Zone, Part I: Ground Observations’, Climatic Change 5, 365–380.
Went, F. W. and Westergaard, M.: 1949, ‘Ecology of Desert Plants III. Development of Plants in the Death Valley National Monument, California’, Ecology 30, 26–38.
Westoby, M., Walker, B., and Noy-Meir, I.: 1989, ‘Range Management on the Basis of a Model Which Does Not Seek to Establish Equilibrium’, Journal of Arid Environments 17, 235–239.
Whitfield, C. J. and Beutner, E. L.: 1938, ‘Natural Vegetation in the Desert Plains Grassland’, Ecology 19, 26–37.
Whitford, W. G., Reynolds, J. F., and Cunningham, G. L.: 1987, ‘How desertification affects nitrogen limitation of primary production on Chihuahuan desert watersheds’, in Moir, W. and Aldon, E. A. (eds.) Proceedings of the Symposium on Strategies for Classification and Management of Natural Vegetation for Food Production in Arid Zones, U.S. Forest Service, Denver, Colorado.
Wooten, E. O.: 1908, The Range Problem in New Mexico, New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 66, Las Cruces.
Wooten, E. O.: 1915, Factors Affecting Range Management in New Mexico, U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 211, Washington D.C.
Wrighl, R. A.: 1982, ‘Aspects of Desertification in Prosopis Dunelands of Southern New Mexico, U.S.A.’, Journal of Arid Environments 5, 277–284.
Wright, R. A. and Honea, J. H.: 1986, ‘Aspects of Desertification in Southern New Mexico, U.S.A.: Soil Properties of a Mesquite Duneland and a Former Grassland’, Journal of Arid Environments 11, 139–145.
Wright, R. G. and Van Dyne, G. M.: 1981, ‘Population Age Structure and its Relationship to the Maintenance of Semidesert Grassland Undergoing Invasion by Mesquite’, Southwestern Naturalist 26, 13–22.
Wright, H. A., Bunting, S. C., and Neuenschwander, L. F.: 1976, ‘Effect of Fire on Honey Mesquite’, Journal of Range Management 29, 467–471.
York, J. C. and Dick-Peddie, W. A.: 1969, ‘Vegetation changes in southern New Mexico during the past one hundred years’, in McGinnies, W. G. and Goldman, B. J. (eds.), Arid Lands in Perspective, Washington, D.C., American Association for the Advancement of Science, University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grover, H.D., Musick, H.B. Shrubland encroachment in southern New Mexico, U.S.A.: An analysis of desertification processes in the American southwest. Climatic Change 17, 305–330 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138373
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138373