Lesley DeFalco
Dr. Lesley DeFalco is a Plant Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Restoration of Aridlands
- Conservation biology
- Desert Community Ecology
- Ecological monitoring
- Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance
- Evaluation of management
- Fire ecology
- Global climate change
- Invasive species ecology
- Physiological plant ecology
- Plant ecology
- Species interactions
- Threatened and endangered species
EDUCATION
PhD, Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2003
MS, Botany, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 1995
BS, Biological Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 1989
COMMITTEES
- Botanical Society of America
- California Native Plant Society (Mojave Chapter)
- Ecological Society of America
- Nevada Native Plant Society
- Society for Ecological Restoration (Southwest Chapter)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 42
Are Mojave Desert annual species equal? Resource acquisition and allocation for the invasive grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens (Poaceae) and two native species
Abundance of invasive plants is often attributed to their ability ot outcompete native species. We compared resource acquisition and allocation of the invasive annual grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens with that of two native Mojave Desert annuals, Vulpia octoflora and Descurainia pinnata, in a glasshouse experiment. Each species was grown in monoculture at two densities and two...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, David R. Bryla, Vickie Smith-Longozo, Robert S. Nowak
Leaf conductance decreased under free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) for three perennials in the Nevada desert
A common response of plants to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (CO2) is decreased leaf conductance. Consequently, leaf temperature is predicted to increase under elevated CO2.Diurnal patterns of leaf conductance and temperature were measured for three desert perennials, the C3 shrub Larrea tridentata, C3 tussock grass Achnatherum hymenoides and C4 tussock grass Pleuraphis rigida...
Authors
R.S. Nowak, D.N. Jordan, L.A. DeFalco, C. Wilcox, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann, S.D. Smith
Physiological variation among native and exotic winter annuals associated with microphytic soil crusts in the Mojave Desert
Microbiotic crusts are important components of many aridland soils. Research on crusts typically focuses on the increase in soil fertility due to N-fixing micro-organisms, the stabilization of soils against water and wind erosion and the impact of disturbance on N-cycling. The effect of microbiotic crusts on the associated plant community has received little attention. We quantified the...
Authors
Lesley DeFalco, James K. Detling, C. Richard Tracy, Steven D. Warren
Monitoring Of Ecosystem Dynamics In The Mojave Desert: The Beatley Permanent Plots
No abstract available.
Authors
Robert H. Webb, Todd C. Esque, Philip A. Medica, Lesley A. DeFalco, Marilyn B. Murov
Root growth and function of three Mojave Desert grasses in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration
Root growth and physiological responses to elevated CO2 were investigated for three important Mojave Desert grasses: the C3 perennial Achnatherum hymenoides, the C4 perennial Pleuraphis rigida and the C3 annual Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens. Seeds of each species were grown at ambient (360 μl l−1) or elevated (1000 μl l−1) CO2 in a glasshouse and harvested at three phenological stages...
Authors
C.K. Yoder, P. Vivin, L.A. DeFalco, J.R. Seemann, R.S. Nowak
Distribution, habitat use and protection of desert tortoise in the Eastern Mojave Desert
No abstract available at this time
Authors
R.B. Bury, T. C. Esque, L.A. DeFalco, P.A. Medica
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 42
Are Mojave Desert annual species equal? Resource acquisition and allocation for the invasive grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens (Poaceae) and two native species
Abundance of invasive plants is often attributed to their ability ot outcompete native species. We compared resource acquisition and allocation of the invasive annual grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens with that of two native Mojave Desert annuals, Vulpia octoflora and Descurainia pinnata, in a glasshouse experiment. Each species was grown in monoculture at two densities and two...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, David R. Bryla, Vickie Smith-Longozo, Robert S. Nowak
Leaf conductance decreased under free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) for three perennials in the Nevada desert
A common response of plants to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (CO2) is decreased leaf conductance. Consequently, leaf temperature is predicted to increase under elevated CO2.Diurnal patterns of leaf conductance and temperature were measured for three desert perennials, the C3 shrub Larrea tridentata, C3 tussock grass Achnatherum hymenoides and C4 tussock grass Pleuraphis rigida...
Authors
R.S. Nowak, D.N. Jordan, L.A. DeFalco, C. Wilcox, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann, S.D. Smith
Physiological variation among native and exotic winter annuals associated with microphytic soil crusts in the Mojave Desert
Microbiotic crusts are important components of many aridland soils. Research on crusts typically focuses on the increase in soil fertility due to N-fixing micro-organisms, the stabilization of soils against water and wind erosion and the impact of disturbance on N-cycling. The effect of microbiotic crusts on the associated plant community has received little attention. We quantified the...
Authors
Lesley DeFalco, James K. Detling, C. Richard Tracy, Steven D. Warren
Monitoring Of Ecosystem Dynamics In The Mojave Desert: The Beatley Permanent Plots
No abstract available.
Authors
Robert H. Webb, Todd C. Esque, Philip A. Medica, Lesley A. DeFalco, Marilyn B. Murov
Root growth and function of three Mojave Desert grasses in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration
Root growth and physiological responses to elevated CO2 were investigated for three important Mojave Desert grasses: the C3 perennial Achnatherum hymenoides, the C4 perennial Pleuraphis rigida and the C3 annual Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens. Seeds of each species were grown at ambient (360 μl l−1) or elevated (1000 μl l−1) CO2 in a glasshouse and harvested at three phenological stages...
Authors
C.K. Yoder, P. Vivin, L.A. DeFalco, J.R. Seemann, R.S. Nowak
Distribution, habitat use and protection of desert tortoise in the Eastern Mojave Desert
No abstract available at this time
Authors
R.B. Bury, T. C. Esque, L.A. DeFalco, P.A. Medica