Figures & data
FIGURE 1. Regional location of the White Mountains in eastern California and adjacent Nevada. Alpine habitats over 3500 m elevation are shown by the stippled area
FIGURE 2. Fellfield habitats at 3750 m elevation in the White Mountains of eastern California: (a) landscape view of field site; (b) general form and cover of a fellfield plant community
FIGURE 3. Common fellfield plant species: (a) Eriogonum ovalifolium var. nivale, cushion; (b) Linanthus nuttallii subsp. pubescens, chamaephyte; (c) Penstemon heterodoxus var. heterodoxus, mat-forming cushion; (d) Trifolium andersonii var. beatleyae, cushion; (e) Ivesia lycopoidiodes subsp. scandularis, herbaceous dicot perennial; and (f) Carex helleri, herbaceous graminoid perennial
TABLE 1 Cover of perennial alpine species at the White Mountains study site where ecophysiological experiments were conducted (3750 m elevation) for a moisture gradient of four fellfield habitats. Each habitat was sampled using ten 1 × 1 m quadrats to obtain mean percent cover for large rocks, soil, and total vegetation for the sampled 10 m2. Cover of each perennial species was estimated within a quadrat: 5 (50–100%), 4 (25–50%), 3 (10–25%), 2 (2–10%), 1 (<2%). Mean cover for each species is the average for cover values of the ten quadrats, and relative frequency is the proportion of quadrats in which that species occurred
Table 2 Functional attributes of eight common fellfield plants at 3750 m elevation in the White Mountains in 2000. Diurnal cycles of ambient and shoot temperatures (T shoot) were measured on 11–12 July. Data on mean maximum photosynthetic capacity (P max) and ratio of internal to ambient CO2 level (c i:c a ratio) were obtained on 24 August. Leaf water potential (ψ) was measured at the end of the growing season on 18 September
