Shelledy Elementary

Plants and Trees

Colorado Life Zones: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 1: Choose One of the Life Zones or Choices Below

Life Zones Menu Bar
Colorado Life Zones General Information Interactive Elevation & Life Zone Diagram Colorado Maps: Life Zones and More Semidesert Shrublands (West CO) Shortgrass Plains Life Zone (East CO) Foothills Woodlands & Shrublands Montane Forests Life Zone Subalpine Life Zone Alpine Life Zone Riparian Life Zones

Semidesert Shrublands Life Zone: Seasons, Plants, & Animals

Step 2: Choose a Topic from the Semidesert Shrublands Life Zone & Scroll Down

Semidesert Plants
General Information

Semidesert Shrublands Through the Seasons
Through the Seasons

Semidesert Canyonlands and Shrublands
Canyonlands and Shrublands

Semidesert Shrublands Awesome Adaptations
Awesome Adaptations

Semidesert Shrublands Plants and Trees
Plants and Trees

Semidesert Shrublands Mammals
Mammals

Semidesert Shrublands Birds
Birds

Semidesert Shrublands Reptiles and Amphibians
Reptiles & Amphibians

Plants & Trees of the Semidesert Shrublands Life Zone

Plants have developed special adaptations to live in such a hot and dry habitat. Cactus have a thick waxy outer layer to keep all the water from evaporating. Sagebrush and desert grasses need little water to survive. The plants have also adapted to protect themselves against animals by growing sharp needles and stickers. In addition, most plants bloom in the spring to reproduce before the hot summer begins. In years with a wet winter and spring, a surprising number of spring flowers may bloom across the semidesert shrublands. Scattered pinyon trees and juniper trees grow in the desert canyons, mesas, and sage shrublands. They provide shelter from the hot summer sun for many small animals.

Claret Cup or Hedgehog Cactus

SW_CO_Plants

Bird Hike_LV

Claret Cup or Hedgehog Cactus

Prickly Pear Cactus

SW_CO_Plants

Bird_&_Hike_LV

Desert USA

Prickly Pear Cactus

Pinyon Pine Tree

SW CO Plants

Bird & Hike LV

Pinyon Tree

Utah Juniper

SW CO Plants

Bird & Hike LV

Juniper Trees

Big or Common Sagebrush

SW CO Plants

Blue Planet Biome

Sagebrush

Desert Grasses

Bird & Hike LV

NPS Canyonlands

Desert Grasses

Spring Flowers:
Bluestar
Desert Paintbrush
Forget-me-not
Four O'Clocks
Astragalus
Penstemon
Globe Mallow
& more flowers

Spring flowers in wet years

Lichen

NPS Canyonlands

Cryptogamic Soil
Bird & Hike LV

Lichen on a rock

Yucca

SW CO Plants

Bird & Hike LV

Agave

Narrow-leafed Yucca

Other Plants:
Greasewood
Desert Trumpets
Apache Plume
Mormon TeaRabbitbrush
Saltbush
Tumbleweed
BuffaloberrryServiceberry
Fremont Barberry
& more plants

Rabbitbrush
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Awesome Adaptations: Lichen & Cryptogamic Soil

One of the least known and overlooked types of plant life in the semidesert shrublands are lichen and cryptogamic soil. Yet they play an important part of the semidesert shrublands. Lichen is is the layer of crusty yellow, red, orange, and green fungi and cyanobacteria found on rocks. Cryptogamic soil is formed by layers of cyanobacteria, lichen, mosses, and fungi. Cryptogamic soil looks different than the red or tan desert soil. It is often black or greenish and feels crunchy when it is stepped on. Cryptogamic soil and lichen need very little water to survive and can live well in the dry hot climate. They are important because they help stop erosion. This is very important for all the other plants and animals that eat the plants because it helps keep the fertile soil in place during the strong summer rainstorms and wind storms. They also add nitrogen to the soil, and nitrogen is a very important nutrient for plants. Cryptogamic soil and lichen grow very slowly.

Lichen and cryptogamic soil are so often overlooked that many people destroy them without even knowing their important roles. Many people see the desert and think that it does not have that much life. So people ride their ATV, ride their dirt bikes or mountain bikes, overgraze an area with sheep or cattle, hike, or do other outdoor activities where ever they wish. Often times they end up killing large areas of lichen and crypotgamic soil. Which in turn allows large summer rainstorms and wind storms to erode away large amounts of soil and create even more dangerous flash floods. It also erodes way important nitrogen and other nutrients that other plants need to grow; so there may be fewer other desert plants able to grow and less food for many animals. So next time you are in the semidesert look around and you may find much more life than you may expect. Try to stay on the trail and ride your ATVs, dirt bikes, and mountain bikes in designated areas.

Sources of information and to find more information: NPS Canyonlands, Bird & Hike LV , Enviroscience

Lichen

Cryptogamic soil

Lichen on a rock Cryptogamic soil