Physical microclimates of erosion-control structures in a salt desert area.
Abstract
Net radiation, soil surface temperature and soil water evaporation were measured in the vicinity of gully plugs and contour furrows in Atriplex corrugata and A. nuttallii habitats in S.E. Utah, on which Agropyron cristatum, Oryzopsis hymenoides and Sporobolus cryptandrus had failed to establish. Soil surface temperatures reached values >60 deg C for level soils and 58 deg C for N. aspects in July, above the recognized upper limit of tolerance for plant tissue. No differences in evaporation occurred among positions or aspects of gully plugs and contour furrows, indicating the great effect of the dry winds of the area on evaporation from bare soil.