Primary colonization and breakdown of igneous rocks by endemic, succulent elephant trees (Pachycormus discolor) of the deserts in Baja California, Mexico

Bashan, Yoav; Vierheilig, Horst; Salazar, Bernardo; de‐Bashan, Luz E.

doi:10.1007/s00114-006-0111-4

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Summer temperatures are very high, rarely dropping below 35-40°C on clear days and frequently exceeding 45°C in exposed areas (Bashan et al 2003(Bashan et al , 2006. Boojums commonly grow in loose associations with other plants, endemic to that part of the Sonoran Desert, such as the elephant tree (Bashan et al 2006), datillilo (a tree-like yucca) and giant cardon cactus (Humphery 2001;León de la Luz et al 1995). The boojum grows very slowly, about 3-4 cm in a good rainy year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mycorrhizal characterization of the boojum tree, Fouquieria columnaris, an endemic ancient tree from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

Bashan¹,

Khaosaad

Salazar³

et al. 2007

Trees

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The mycorrhizal association with the boojum tree, Fouquieria columnaris (=Idria columnaris), was studied. This unusual tree is almost exclusively endemic to granite and volcanic soils in highly arid areas of the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. Soil and root samples from ten sites, covering the extent of geographic distribution of the tree on the peninsula, were analyzed. The roots of the boojum tree contained all structures of an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) association. Morphologically different species, 23 in number, were identified in close vicinity to the boojum tree indicating that F. columnaris is associated with a high number of AM species of several AM genera and families.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mycorrhizal characterization of the boojum tree, Fouquieria columnaris, an endemic ancient tree from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

Bashan¹,

Khaosaad

Salazar³

et al. 2007

Trees

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“…Plants colonizing barren desert rocks have a significant ecological advantage over species incapable of handling extreme substrate conditions (Bashan et al 2002(Bashan et al , 2006. In this study, the saxicolous community contains only eight plant species, mostly cacti M. fraileana, E. brandegeei, M. brandegeei, and P. pringeli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taken together, a restricted number of species and high dominance of one species represent a plant community of low diversity (Crawley 1986). This usually occurs in stressful environments; in this case, the rocky habitat represents a limiting habitat characterized by extremely high temperatures, high insolation, low availability of water, and a highly impervious substrate for roots, limited soil volume and scarce nutrients (Nagy and Proctor 1997;Bashan et al 2002Bashan et al , 2006. For desert plants inhabiting rocky soils, plant development is related to physical factors, such as reflected light, rock hardness, rock and sediment porosity, water-holding capacity of the substratum (Martre et al 2002;Nobel and Zutta 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even so, perennials, succulents, cacti, and shrubs are common on rocky substrates in the Sonoran Desert of northwestern Mexico and southwestern USA (Turner et al 1995;Nobel and Loik 1999;Anderson 2001;Chadwick and Steinmetz 2006;Nobel and Zutta 2007). Rockcolonizing plants become established on bare rock, that is, without the benefit of soil (Bashan et al 2002(Bashan et al , 2006. Apparently, the key to their outstanding performance in harsh environments lies in their association with microorganisms (Puente et al 2004a, b;Bashan et al 2007).…”

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confidence: 97%

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Rock-colonizing plants: abundance of the endemic cactus Mammillaria fraileana related to rock type in the southern Sonoran Desert

Lopez¹,

Bashan

Bacilio³

et al. 2008

Plant Ecol

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Establishment, colonization, and permanence of plants affect biogenic and physical processes leading to development of soil. Rockiness, temperature, and humidity are accepted explanations to the influence and the presence of rock-dwelling plants, but the relationship between mineral and chemical composition of rocks with plant abundance is unknown in some regions. This study documents plant species growing on rocks, their capacity as rock colonizers measured by the Importance Index, and the relationships between the chemical composition of rocks and the abundance of the dominant plant. The community is composed of eight species and is dominated by the small cactus Mammillaria fraileana. Sites with low abundance of this species contain volcanic breccias, high amounts Ca, Fe, Mg, Ti, Al, and Mn as part of moderately weatherable minerals, such as plagioclase and pyroxene. Sites with higher abundance contain rhyodacite, rhyolite, and andesite rocks rich in more weatherable minerals, such as volcanic glass and minerals containing Si, K, and Na. K and Na were present in equal proportions only at the site with more plants. Since Na is toxic for most plants, an experiment was carried out to assess its effect on the survival of M. fraileana seedlings. Decreased survival occurred as the concentration of Na increased. Even in the treatment without Na, survival decreased slightly. In summary, presence and abundance of plants is related to the type of bedrock, their weathering characteristics, and proportion of elements. The interactions among elements, rather than the isolated effect of specific elements, could be the most reliable explanation for local variations in the abundance and dominance of Mammillaria fraileana in rocky habitat in the southern Sonoran Desert.

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“…In contrast, the barren area between the resource islands as well as degraded areas where vegetation has been removed is poorly populated by microorganisms and barely supports plant growth even after rainfall. Only on rare occasions are these barren desert areas colonized by pioneer plants (Bashan, Vierheilig, Salazar, & de‐Bashan, ) or invasive grasses (Bashan, Salazar, Moreno, Lopez, & Linderman, ). The eroded soils of arid areas are often the targets of restoration efforts, but because they are usually planted with native or exotic plants, but without including microorganisms in the restoration process, more often than not these restoration attempts fail (Bainbridge, ; Cowie et al, ; Gao et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Root growth improvement of mesquite seedlings and bacterial rhizosphere and soil community changes are induced by inoculation with plant growth‐promoting bacteria and promote restoration of eroded desert soil

Galaviz¹,

Lopez²,

de‐Bashan

et al. 2018

Land Degrad Dev

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Soil degradation is an ecological disturbance, usually human‐caused, that negatively affects the vegetation and climate of an ecosystem, particularly arid and semiarid environments. These degraded soils can be restored by using native perennial plants inoculated with specific microorganisms. We studied the changes in root growth and the rhizosphere bacterial community of mesquite seedlings (Prosopis articulata) after inoculation with the endophytic bacteria Bacillus pumilus ES4, over 3 cycles of growth in the same soil under desert climatic conditions, and found that inoculation significantly enhanced root biomass during the growth cycles but not shoot biomass or root and shoot lengths. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis demonstrated that B. pumilus colonized the root cap, apical meristem, and elongation zone, forming small colonies, on roots from soil‐grown mesquite. Inoculation also significantly changed the bacterial community structure of rhizophere and nonrhizosphere (without plants) soils based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles. The changes were highly stable, and the bacterial community structure was maintained throughout the experimental period and not affected by plant replacement. The 16S rRNA pyrosequencing confirmed the changes on structure of bacterial community and revealed an impact on the top taxonomic levels analyzed. The rhizospheres of inoculated plants showed a significant increase in the abundance of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria coupled with a concomitant decrease in Actinobacteria, whereas an opposite response was observed in nonrhizospheric degraded soils. Overall, inoculation with B. pumilus reduced bacterial diversity but increased the Rhizobium population in the soil. The class Bacilli, despite B. pumilus inoculum, showed minimal variation.

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Primary colonization and breakdown of igneous rocks by endemic, succulent elephant trees (Pachycormus discolor) of the deserts in Baja California, Mexico

Cited by 25 publications

References 12 publications

Mycorrhizal characterization of the boojum tree, Fouquieria columnaris, an endemic ancient tree from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

Mycorrhizal characterization of the boojum tree, Fouquieria columnaris, an endemic ancient tree from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

Rock-colonizing plants: abundance of the endemic cactus Mammillaria fraileana related to rock type in the southern Sonoran Desert

Root growth improvement of mesquite seedlings and bacterial rhizosphere and soil community changes are induced by inoculation with plant growth‐promoting bacteria and promote restoration of eroded desert soil

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