Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Volume 35 | Issue 2 Article 2 2017 The egetV ation and Flora of Edwards Air Force Base, Western Mojave Desert, California David Charlton Jacobs Engineering, Pasadena Philip W. Rundel University of California, Los Angeles Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/aliso Part of the Botany Commons Recommended Citation Charlton, David and Rundel, Philip W. (2017) "The eV getation and Flora of Edwards Air Force Base, Western Mojave Desert, California," Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany: Vol. 35: Iss. 2, Article 2. Available at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/aliso/vol35/iss2/2 Aliso, 35(2), pp. 51–68 ISSN: 0065-6265 (print), 2327-2929 (online) THE VEGETATION AND FLORA OF EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT, CALIFORNIA DAV I D CHARLTON1 AND PHILIP W. RUNDEL2,3 1Jacobs Engineering, Pasadena, California 91101 (
[email protected]); 2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 3Corresponding author (
[email protected]) ABSTRACT Edwards Air Force Base extends over 121,000 ha in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert, with much of the area part of a closed endorheic basin that held the Pleistocene Lake Thompson. Notable topographic features are Rogers, Rosamond and Buckhorn dry lakes, while rounded domes and scattered hills are present to the north and east. Elevation gradients are limited, ranging from a low of 690 m to 1044 m near the eastern margin. Diverse communities of saltbush scrub dominate the lower plains, while creosote bush scrub and Joshua tree woodlands are present away from the old lake basin.