Growth and nutrients content of Atriplex canescens across a soil electric conductivity gradient

Atriplex canescens canopy cover, biomass production, and nutrient content were evaluated after four years of livestock grazing exclusion and mechanical shrub removal, except A. canescensin an arid rangeland with a slightly saline soil and with a long history of heavy livestock grazing in the southern Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico (24° N). Twenty 3 × 3 m paddocks were established in terrains with three levels of electric conductivity (EC): 1.6 dS/m. Atriplex canescens canopy cover was higher (49.5%; p1.6 dS/m than paddocks with soil EC <1.4 and 1.4–1.6 dS/m (32.1 and 22.9%, respectively). Above-ground biomass did not differ between paddocks with soils with EC of <1.4 and 1.4–1.6 dS/m (1309 ± 535 and 1372 ± 180 kg DM/ha), but biomass increased 2.7 times (p