La Cienega Project
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Ecology is the study of how different parts of the environment interact. For example, how plants interact with the soil, how animals interact with the plants, and how decomposers in the soil interact with the animals.

The Plant ecology out at Quitobaquito springs is quite unique to the rest of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The soil is more alkaline and contains more salt than most of the soils around the park. There is also a huge amount of water available, that most plants in the rest of the park will never get to use.

One of the keys to understanding how pupfish survive in Quitobaquito springs, is understanding how they interact with the plants in their environment. The first step is to identify what plants are there, and how many of each type there are.

Once we know what kinds of plants the Pupfish live among, then we can try to figure out how they interact with each species of plant. From there, we can make recommendations about what plants we should include in the new Cienega behind the Visitor Center.

On your field trip out to Quitobaquito, you will learn to identify some of the plants using the tools that all botonists use. To help you get familiar with the plants before you get there, take a look at the following links. There are pictures and bits of information about the kinds of plants you will find when you get there. Some of the plants grow underwater, some partially in the water, and most completely out of the water (but you can bet their roots are stretching to get close).

Click on these links to see photos of common Quitobaquito plants

aquatic plants
emergent plants
grasses
shrubs
trees
cactus