Intraspecific Competition in Hot Deserts
Hilaria rigida (big galleta grass) is a C4 bunchgrass in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the southwestern United States.
Considerable overlap in the root systems of neighboring bunchgrass
plants may exist. This overlap results in significant competition
for soil water among these plants. This photograph was taken at Agave Hill, a research area near Palm Springs, California.
[A.C. Franco pictured at left]
With:
Park S. Nobel, Professor, Department of Biology
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Funded by the United States Department of Energy