General information

Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.

MLRA notes

Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 030X–Mojave Basin and Range

The Mojave Desert Major Land Resource Area (MLRA 30) is found in southern California, southern Nevada, the extreme southwest corner of Utah and northwestern Arizona within the Basin and Range Province of the Intermontane Plateaus. The Mojave Desert is a transitional area between hot deserts and cold deserts where close proximity of these desert types exert enough influence on each other to distinguish these desert types from the hot and cold deserts beyond the Mojave. Kottek et. al 2006 defines hot deserts as areas where mean annual air temperatures are above 64 F (18 C) and cold deserts as areas where mean annual air temperatures are below 64 F (18 C). Steep elevation gradients within the Mojave create islands of low elevation hot desert areas surrounded by islands of high elevation cold desert areas.

The Mojave Desert receives less than 10 inches of mean annual precipitation. Mojave Desert low elevation areas are often hyper-arid while high elevation cold deserts are often semi-arid with the majority of the Mojave being an arid climate. Hyper-arid areas receive less than 4 inches of mean annual precipitation and semi-arid areas receive more than 8 inches of precipitation (Salem 1989). The western Mojave receives very little precipitation during the summer months while the eastern Mojave experiences some summer monsoonal activity.

In summary, the Mojave is a land of extremes. Elevation gradients contribute to extremely hot and dry summers and cold moist winters where temperature highs and lows can fluctuate greatly between day and night, from day to day and from winter to summer. Precipitation falls more consistently at higher elevations while lower elevations can experience long intervals without any precipitation. Lower elevations also experience a low frequency of precipitation events so that the majority of annual precipitation may come in only a couple precipitation events during the whole year. Hot desert areas influence cold desert areas by increasing the extreme highs and shortening the length of below freezing events. Cold desert areas influence hot desert areas by increasing the extreme lows and increasing the length of below freezing events. Average precipitation and temperature values contribute little understanding to the extremes which govern wildland plant communities across the Mojave.


Hyper-Arid Mojave Land Resource Unit (XD)

LRU notes

The Mojave Desert is currently divided into 4 Land Resource Units (LRUs). This ecological site is within the Hyper-Arid Mojave LRU, extremely hot and dry low elevation troughs within the Mojave Desert. The Hyper-Arid Mojave LRU is designated by the 'XD' symbol within the ecological site ID. This LRU is found within the Death Valley/Mojave Central Trough, as well as portions of the Mojave exposed to the Salton Sea Trough and the Colorado River Valley. This LRU is essentially equivalent to the Death Valley/Mojave Central Trough, Arid Valleys and Canyonlands, and associated Mojave Sand Dunes and Mojave Playas of EPA Level IV Ecoregions

Elevations range from -280 to 1650 feet and precipitation is less than 4 inches per year. This LRU is distinguished by its extremely aridity where a nearly barren landscape is occupied by widely spaced shrubs. Vegetation includes creosote bush, burrobush, big galleta grass with many annual species able to quickly take advantage of the few precipitation events which occur in this LRU. Playa species such as Mojave seablite and saltbush species are also common in this LRU.

Ecological site concept

This ecological site is found on dunes and sand sheets within the fan piedmont, hills, and mountains which are too active to support shrubs. Sand accumulation and removal rates bury sprouting plants or remove seeds and seedlings. Only rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial grasses are able to tolerate conditions at this site.

Associated sites

Similar sites

Table 1. Dominant plant species