Chapter 14 4

A major portion of the temperate desert region in North America is occupied by shrubs and half-I shrubs of the Chenopodiaceae. Since their domin- ance is usually associated with halomorphic soils, the descriptor "salt desert shrub " has gained wide-spread usage (Branson et al., 1967; West, 1968). Although the correspondence of chenopod domin-ance with salty soils is strong, it is not universal. We will also include here the chenopod-dominated areas on dry, but non-saline soils in the extreme rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada in western Nevada and adjacent California (Billings, 1949, 1951). We will not include discussion here of the rather small but much more diverse and productive inclusions of marshlands and meadows where per--manent high free water tables exist at or near the soil surface. These have been reviewed elsewhere b