Who said only sand is found in the desert? Two new species of desert poppies from North America prove this statement wrong with their simple beauty.The newly described plants were found in the Mojave Desert of California and Arizona. Their vibrant yellow inflorescences are typical of all desert dwellers from the Eschscholzia genus of the […]
Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center
Floristic Discovery in the California Desert
A case study at the Mojave National Preserve by James Andre, Director, Sweeney Granite Mountains Reserve California is celebrated widely among biologists for its unparalleled diversity and high degree of endemism. And no other state in the United States can rival California’s vascular plant diversity. While deserts are commonly portrayed as barren and lifeless, the […]
Fieldwork: The Great Outdoors
Now more than ever, field stations are helping scientists to tackle big questions about pressing environmental issues by Roberta Kwok Noah Whiteman’s 2011 field season was tough. He and his team spent two summer months in the Rocky Mountains studying whether bacterial infections made plants more vulnerable to herbivores. They wanted to isolate bacteria from […]
NRS Featured in Desert Report
The desert reserves of the UC Natural Reserve System receive a well-deserved day in the sun in the latest issue of Desert Report newsletter. Written by NRS science writer Kathleen M. Wong, the article retells the story of the origins of the NRS and its unique role in research, education, and teaching. The story describes Boyd […]
Dancing with Extinction
In the summer of 2011, four University of Missouri journalism students toured California to learn about the Golden State’s phenomenal biological diversity. They interviewed botanists, other scientists, and conservation workers to understand why California has some of the most imperiled plant communities in the nation. Along the way, they visited natural habitats ranging from redwood […]
Prof. Robert Norris, Granites and NRS supporter, 1921-2012
Robert Matheson Norris, emeritus professor of geology at UC Santa Barbara and supporter of the Natural Reserve System, died August 31, 2012. He was 91. A veteran of World War II who saw action in the Pacific, Dr. Norris went on to help found UC Santa Barbara’s geology department. He coauthored The Geology of California […]