Our group was composed of four webfoots responsible for evaluating the plant communities of Borax Lake and Mickey Hot Springs, along with the plant interactions with vertebrates and invertebrates, and possible alien influence on their growth. Our team had no experience with such surroundings before, nor with the vegetation.
We ran our first transect at a fresh coldwater lake just below Borax Lake. We used a fun toy that measured distance, known as a measuring tape in the professional community. At first glance, the surroundings appeared rather sparse, and that our task was going to be a quick one. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that this was not the case. A barren lake bank eventually turned into a dense community of saltgrass. Greasewood, (formally known as Pricklus bastardus), then appeared further up the bank, where the water table was further from the surface. Saltgrass was the dominant species, seen wherever water was nearby, and no obstruction from the sun. A rust-colored lichen called “Orange Crust” grew on its stems and on nearby rocks below the shrubbery and in the shade. A small, tasty saltbush was found near the end of the transect.
At Borax Lake we did a second transect. The only plant found on the transect was saltgrass in bountiful quantity from the lake edge on out. A thorough inspection, using all of our senses, did not turn up any other plant. Was the saltgrass alive, dead, or dormant? A very close inspection showed that some stalks were green amongst the dead looking stalks. The soil was moist, and unlike the freshwater lake, Borax Lake water level was above surrounding shoreline.
“J” used one of her senses to test the properties of the shrubbery, but it was unclear what conclusions she drew from this. She would have smoked it, but it was too wet.
We thought it was interesting that the two transect lines were so close together (about 200 yards if that) yet hosted such different plant communities, (or lack thereof around Borax Lake) Perhaps it had something to do with the different temperatures of the lakes. Borax lake was a whoppin’ 85 degrees, while the fresh water lake was a mere 59 degrees. Borax lake also contained high counts of arsenic, does this explain the sparcity of the transect line? We don’t know. We may go to the grave with out knowing, and if someone finds out, will they let us know? Will we ever know? We hope so.
Mickey Hot Springs was a great transect line. Our most interesting find was Cyanobacteria. It includes Stramatolytes which were abundant back in the day until Gastropods (For you slow folks, Gastropods are snails and slugs and such) entered into existence and gobbled most of them up. Now the only place you will find Cyanobacteria is where gastropods are not. Have you ever tried pouring salt over a slug-we hope not, but it would have a similar effect if a slug crawled on to this high alkaline (salty) soil. Not to mention the high temperature and lack of rain. Our transect line crossed a hotspring run off, The very prolific cyanobacteria formed a matlike body on each side of this little stream. Moving further away from the stream we found saltgrass, one Greasewood, slightly elevated on it’s own soil plateau (maybe it don’t like the water so much…) and some Orange crust lichen on the stems of the greasewood (maybe it liken the lichen?)
It’s all about Adaptation! We noticed “animal evidence” all around us, Tracks, scat, trails. We found it hard to believe that any animal could graze off these plants with adaptations that make them unpalatable to animals. But touché! But where there is one adaptation there is another. The saltbrush adapts to a salty soil by excreting salts onto the surface of its leaves. This may help with the plant’s water retention. Along comes a kangaroo rat, lookin’ for something to eat. Mmmm, salty leaves! I’ll scrape it off before I eat, and what I do eat, I’ll excrete!
In this vast
place we call the Malheur region, we find that plant communities are fragile
and relatively non-diverse. They carefully adapt to take advantage
of the limited resources they have, finding their niche, and able to survive
in some of the harshest conditions in this state.