Desert Shrublands and Playas - Mountains and Plains: The Ecology of Wyoming Landscapes - page 131

Chapter 8 Desert Shrublands
and Playas

occupying the driest parts of the intermountain
basins, desert shrublands cover about 8 percent of
Wyoming. the mean annual precipitation is less than
8 inches, and the generally fine-textured soils tend to
be saline (see figs. 1.2, 1.5, 3.4, and 8.1). the predomi-
nant plants are different from those in grassland and
sagebrush ecosystems, though big sagebrush can be
found, especially where snow drifting occurs. typical

shrubs are Gardner's saltbush, winterfat, birdfoot sage-
wort, shadscale, fourwing saltbush, and greasewood. 1
the dominant plants form a patchy mosaic associated
with the amount and timing of water availability, tem-
perature at the time water is available, soil texture and
salinity, and depth to groundwater (fig. 8.2). Plants
grow slowly and support fewer large herbivores than
in wetter zones.

Fig. 8.1. Desert shrublands
are found where the aver-
age annual precipitation is
8 inches or less. common
plants include Gardner's
saltbush, shadscale, fourwing
saltbush, birdfoot sagewort,
bud sagewort, pricklypear cac-
tus, winterfat, and Wyoming
big sagebrush. Greasewood
grows adjacent to playas or
where groundwater seeps to
near the surface. Most of the
plants are shrubs. this area
is in the southern part of
the Great Divide Basin (also
known as the Red Desert),
between Rock Springs and
Rawlins (see fig. 1.2). eleva-
tion about 6,800 feet.

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