H. Wang et al., NARROW HYBRID ZONE BETWEEN 2 SUBSPECIES OF BIG SAGEBRUSH (ARTEMISIA-TRIDENTATA, ASTERACEAE) - V - SOIL PROPERTIES, International journal of plant sciences, 159(1), 1998, pp. 139-147
We studied soils of the big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) hybrid zo
ne at two locations in Utah. The elemental composition, depth, and pH
of soil in the basin and mountain big sagebrush habitats differed sign
ificantly from each other and from the hybrid zone soil. The hybrid zo
ne soil is not just a simple blend of the two parental habitat soils.
Rather, it possesses novel characteristics found in neither parental h
abitat and is more variable than the parental habitat soils. Correspon
dence analyses show that the sites occupied by each parental taxon are
chemically distinct. Moreover, the principal axes from the two study
locations are highly correlated with each other, indicating consistent
edaphic differences across both hybrid zones.