I have the pleasure to be working in the Mojave dessert with the USGS, and three other interns. Within the first week of the internship we were tossed out into the desert. It is amazing learning about the desert and observing it all in person. It is interesting to see how the desert is home to such a vast and beautiful environment that houses multiple ecological systems providing a suitable habitat for a variety of organisms. This multifaceted ecosystem also provides a uniquely beautiful landscape, which makes any field day worth the effort.
While we were driving to our field site we got to see something very unique. The Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) were in bloom. Since this is not an annual occurrence it was a special event, for me anyway. They are beautiful trees with a large inflorescence sticking straight up from the middle of the leaf blade bundles. It was beautiful to look out across the landscape and see a desert full of blooming yucca.
A beautiful Yucca brevifolia in bloom.
On the first day in the field, our team was given a crash course on the 18 plants that we would be plucking for biomass assessment. Once we were done learning about the different morphological distinctions of each plant, we went straight to work. One by one we plucked out each species, which we then put into a bag that contained the identifying initials for that plant. It was interesting to find out how much diversity can be found in a 50cm by 20 cm area in the desert. It was also fascinating to note that the plots that seemed sparse contained the greatest biodiversity. It became a tedious job at times, but at the end of the day it was rewarding to look back at all the sample bags that I had in my pack and see how much work had been accomplished. It was a greater reward to walk back to camp watching the sun set on the horizon illuminating the red rocks and canyons surrounding us.
The beautiful area (Nevershine, AZ) that we got to work in for the first week of our internship.
Whoever has it in their mind that the desert is a barren wasteland that has nothing in it, should take a deeper look. The desert provides a beauty uniquely its’ own.