Award Date

8-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Water Resources Management

Department

Water Resource Management

First Committee Member

Dale Devitt, Co-Chair

Second Committee Member

Michael Young, Co-Chair

Third Committee Member

David Kreamer

Graduate Faculty Representative

Paul Schulte

Number of Pages

114

Abstract

At a native stand of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) in North Las Vegas, a rainfall simulation study was conducted over a 12 month period from October 2005 to October 2006. Simulated rainfall occurred during the winter, spring, summer, and fall periods. Rainfall simulation systems were positioned on each of 12 plots, each containing a single creosote bush. Simulated rainfall events occurred at night with multiple short pulses designed to maximize infiltration while minimizing ponding. Yearly simulated rainfall amounts were set at 0, 15, 30 and 60 cm (replicated three times) and were approximately 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 times the natural rainfall. The cumulative reference evapotranspiration (ETref) was 156.7 cm and cumulative ambient precipitation was 7.9 cm. Soil and plant canopy surface to air temperature differentials (Ts-Ta and Tc-Ta) were assessed using an infrared thermometer (IRT). Significant differences were based on simulated rainfall treatment (P

Keywords

Creosote bush; Evaporation; Nevada – North Las Vegas; Plant-water relationships; Plants — Transpiration; Rainfall simulators; Soil percolation; Storage cover; Time domain reflectometry; Water balance (Physiology)

Disciplines

Desert Ecology | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Plant Biology | Soil Science | Water Resource Management

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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