ARS | Publication request: LANDSCAPE-LEVEL PHYTOCHEMISTRY OF A CHIHUAHUAN DESERT SHRUBLAND

Submitted to: Phytochemical Society of North America Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: June 24, 2002
Publication Date: July 1, 2002
Citation: LUCERO, M.E., ESTELL, R.E., TELLEZ, M., FREDRICKSON, E.L., HAVSTAD, K.M. LANDSCAPE-LEVEL PHYTOCHEMISTRY OF A CHIHUAHUAN DESERT SHRUBLAND. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PHYTOCHEMICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA. 2002. ABSTRACT P. 49.

Technical Abstract: Shrub volatiles play a significant ecological role in desert rangelands. Activities attributed to these compounds include pollinator attraction, herbivore repulsion, allelopathy, pathogen inhibition, and microclimate modification. In recent years, we have constructed volatile chemical profiles of a number of genera, including Ceratoides, Chrysothamnus, Dalea, Drymaria, Dyssodia, Fallugia, Florensia, Gutierrezia, and Psorothamnus. Presently, we are utilizing these data to construct a spatial database of the volatile compounds present on sites within the 78,266 ha Jornada Experimental Range (JER), a desert rangeland research facility near Las Cruces, NM. Coupling these data with vegetative maps, soil maps, livestock grazing patterns, weather and climate data, and other information available at the Jornada Experimental Range will facilitate examination of relationships between plant volatile composition, shrub survival, plant-plant competition, and plant-herbivore interactions.