A Study to Explore the Use of Orbital Remote Sensing to Determine Native Arid Plant Distribution MMC #2501 GSFC #UN613

摘要

On ERTS imagery of Yuma County, there is a contrast between the dark tones of some bajadas and the lighter tones of other bajadas. Ground truth obser¬vations revealed that the bajadas which are dark on the ERTS imagery are dark because of their large areas of varnished desert pavement. Ground truth obser¬vations also revealed there are vegetation differences between the bajadas with large areas of desert pavement and those bajadas lacking desert pavement. Soils analysis revealed that the varnished desert pavement overlies a soil with distinc¬tive physical structure and chemical characteristics. We could infer from the physical and chemical characteristics of the pavement soil that the moisture re¬lations of the rills and washes on the pavement bajadas are more favorable than the bajadas lacking desert pavement. We conclude that this probable difference in moisture relations is a major cause of observed difference in vegetation be¬tween the bajadas with desert pavement and those without it.