LITERARY SPECIMEN

This semi-arid site is located in a nearly inaccessible perched shelf located below the Wedge Overlook area of the San Rafael Swell. The soil at the site is a reddish loam with very low organic matter (0.17% OM), slightly alkaline pH (7.6), electrical conductivity of 2.4 mS.cm-1, sodium absorption ratio of 0.11, 2.9 ppm nitrate-N, 5.7 ppm phosphate - P, 134 ppm exchangeable K, 613 ppm soluble Ca, 39 ppm soluble Mg, and 55 ppm soluble Na. Soils are very shallow (0.2-1.5 m to slickrock base) and support a sparse vascular plant community dominated by widely spaced Juniperus osteosperma. The soil is covered with a well-developed pedicled microbiotic crust. This site is located in the Colorado Plateau, a large geological province that supports microbiotic crusts in much of its range.