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| Biosphere Reserve Information | ||||
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DESERT |
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| General Description |
The Desert Biosphere Reserve and Experimental Range is located in Pine Valley some 70 km west of Milford, Utah. Its geography, flora and fauna represents the Great Basin, an arid and cold desert of the Western United States comprising a series of north- and south-aligned ranges and closed basins. Vegetation is typical of the Great Basin plant communities, particularly salt-desert shrub with e.g. shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). The area is largely undisturbed by man except fences, a limited road system, and controlled livestock grazing. Research that is carried out in this cold desert includes for instance disturbance and successional processes in North American cold desert plant communities, desertification and winter sheep management. The area has been protected and utilized in experimental grazing programmes for many decades and there are long-term records of range use, vegetal change and climate available. |
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| Major ecosystem type | Cold desert | |||
| Major habitats & land cover types | Shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia) mixed shrub-perennial grass shrublands; black sagebrush (Artemisia nova) shrubland; pinyon - juniper (Pinus monophylla) woodland; pasture land | |||
| Location | 38°40'N, 113°45'W | |||
| Area (hectares) | ||||
| Total | 22,513 | |||
| Core area(s) | 680 | |||
| Buffer zone(s) | ||||
| Transition area(s) when given | ||||
| Altitude (metres above sea level) | +1,547 to +2,565 | |||
| Year designated | 1976 | |||
| Administrative authorities | Desert Experimental Range U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Sevice, Rocky Mountain Research Station | |||
| Last updated: 1/11/2002 |
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