7 pp. / This publication discusses some backyard fruits that can be grown at elevations between 3500 to 6000 feet and also lists varieties of each fruit by harvest season.

4 pp.

Revised; Originally Published: 2002 / 5 pp.

High-elevation environments above 2500 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.) were among the planet's last frontiers of human colonization. Research on the speed and tempo of this colonization process is active and holds implications for understanding rates of genetic, physiological and cultural adaptation in our species. Permanent occupation of high-elevation environments in the Andes Mountains of South America tentatively began with hunter-gatherers around 9 ka according to current archaeological estimates, though the timing is currently debated. Recent observations on the archaeological site of Soro Mik'aya Patjxa (8.0-6.5 ka), located at 3800 m.a.s.l. in the Andean Altiplano, offer an opportunity to independently test hypotheses for early permanent use of the region. This study observes low oxygen (delta O-18) and high carbon (delta C-13) isotope values in human bone, long travel distances to low-elevation zones, variable age and sex structure in the human population and an absence of non-local lithic materials. These independent lines of evidence converge to support a model of permanent occupation of high elevations and refute logistical and seasonal use models. The results constitute the strongest empirical support to date for permanent human occupation of the Andean highlands by hunter-gatherers before 7 ka.

Copepods in high elevation lakes and ponds in Colorado are exposed to significant levels of ultraviolet radiation (UV), necessitating development of UV avoidance behavior and photoprotective physiological adaptations. The copepods are brightly pigmented due to accumulation of astaxanthin, a carotenoid which has photoprotective and antioxidant properties. Astaxanthin interacts with a crustacyanin-like protein, shifting its absorbance from 473 nm (hydrophobic free form, appears red) to 632 nm (protein-bound complex, appears blue). In six sites in Colorado, habitat-specific coloration patterns related to carotenoprotein complex have been observed. The objective of this study was to determine whether pigment accumulation or carotenoprotein expression has a greater effect on resistance to UV exposure. For each site, copepod tolerance to UV was assessed by survivorship during UV exposure trials. Average UV exposure was determined for each habitat. Astaxanthin profiles were generated for copepods in each site. Ability to withstand UV exposure during exposure trials was significantly different between color morphs (p < 0.0001). Red copepods were found to tolerate 2-fold greater levels of UVB than blue or mixed copepods. Additionally, red copepods have much higher levels of total astaxanthin than blue or mixed copepods (p < 0.0001) and receive a higher daily UV dose (p < 0.0003). Diaptomid carotenoprotein sequence is not homologous with that of other crustaceans in which crustacyanin has been characterized which prevented quantification of carotenoprotein transcript expression. Overall, diaptomid color morph may be an important indicator of UV conditions in high elevation lentic ecosystems.

2 pp. / Information about life cycle and damage in aspens, poplars and willows found especially in Arizona and their control methods.

7 pp. / Shrubs can greatly enhance the landscaping of your home year round. Different types of shrubs, their landscape usage, selection and cultural requirements are discussed here in detail.

Revised; Originally Published: 2003 / 7 pp.

The Critical Zone (CZ) is the surficial layer of the planet that sustains life on Earth and extends from the base of the weathered bedrock to the top of the vegetation canopy. Its structure influences water fluxes, biogeochemistry and vegetation. In this dissertation, I explore the relationships between climate, water fluxes, vegetation dynamics, biogeochemistry, and effective energy and mass transfer fluxes (EEMT) in a semi-arid critical zone. This research was carried out in the upper Jemez River Basin in northern New Mexico across gradients of climate and elevation. The main research objectives were to (i) quantify relations among inputs of mass and energy (EEMT), hydrological and biogeochemical processes within the CZ, (ii) determine water fluxes and vegetation dynamics in high elevation mountain catchments with different terrain aspect and solar radiation, and (iii) study temporal variability of climate and its influence on the CZ water availability, forest productivity and energy and mass fluxes. The key findings of this study include (i) significant correlations between EEMT, water transit times (WTT) and mineral weathering products around Redondo Peak. Significant correlations were observed between dissolved weathering products (Na⁺ and DIC) and maximum EEMT. Similarly, ³H concentrations measured at the springs were significantly correlated with maximum EEMT; (ii) terrain aspect strongly controls energy, water distribution, and vegetation productivity in high elevation ecosystems in catchments draining different aspects of Redondo Peak. The predominantly north facing catchment, when compared to the other two eastern catchments, receives less solar radiation, exhibits less forest cover and smaller biomass, has more surface runoff and smaller vegetation water consumption. Furthermore, the north facing catchment showed smaller NDVI values and shorter growing season length as a consequence of energy limitation, and (iii) from 1984 to 2012 a decreasing trend in water availability, increased vegetation water use, a reduction in both forest productivity and EEMT was observed at the upper Jemez River Basin. These changes point towards a hotter, drier and less productive ecosystem which may alter critical zone processes in high elevation semi-arid systems.

The high-elevation forests of the Southern Appalachian Mountains have been impacted and rearranged by a tiny introduced pest from Europe, known as the Balsam Woolly Adelgid (Adelges piceaea), creating a concern for conservation. Breeding bird censuses, along with botanical surveys, have been conducted periodically on an established 60-acre plot since 1967 on the virgin forested slopes of Mount Guyot, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the last census being completed in 2015. Breeding bird populations are shown to rise and fall in response to the forest’s changes over the last 48 years. Comparisons are made between all studies in order to assess how bird populations are being affected by the changed forest dynamics.