Sierra Estrellas and Tamarisks by junge1
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Description
The Sierra Estrellas are just south of the Greater Phoenix area. In the northwest part of the mountains is urban development and that is where we go bike riding.
In the foreground is riparian vegetation in the bottom of the Gila River, mostly Tamarisk a riparian phreatophyte.
Tamarisk (Salt Cedar) is a deciduous shrub or small tree from Eurasia that can grow as high as 25-ft. tall. Tamarisk is a non-native invasive species that was first introduced in the 1880s as ornamental plants and as wind breaks.
The Tamarisk invasion has gone out of control, especially in the American Southwest. Tamarisk invade riverbeds and choke the river by narrowing its channel. It is displacing native vegetation such as Cottonwoods and Willows. It provides a poor habitat for livestock, wild animals, and birds. It can also be a wildfire hazard. The Gila River is lined with these trees which can uptake as much as 200 gallons per tree per day.
It is estimated that the American West is probably loosing from 2-4.5 million acre-feet (1 acre-foot = 325,851 gallons) of water per year because of Tamarisk. This is enough water to supply more than 20 million people with water for one year or to irrigate over 1,000,000 acres (2.471 acres = 1 hectare) of land (Source: www.discovermoab.com/tamarisk.htm).
Here in the Greater Phoenix area it is not unusual that a wildfire burns in the stream bed of the Gila River, which is choked with Tamarisk. The fire may be human caused, or set off by a lightning strike and it my burn for days and pollute the air over the city.
This picture was taken on 2 November 2013,
Sig....
Comments (25)
flaviok
Sem duvidas um bom lugar para andar de bicicleta. Bela narrativa e imagem, excelente trabalho meu amigo, aplausos (5)
Cyve
Marvelous landscape and fantastic image !
ronmolina
Nice shot!
tigertim
Nice shot indeed!!
nefertiabet
Wow, great capture my friend and info!!!
auntietk
As much of a bane as they are, the trees in the foreground set off the receding mountains beautifully. They provide an anchor for the back, back, back, back composition. I love the haze, the subtle colors and the repetitive shapes. Gorgeous! (I'm appalled by the water usage, however. Pretty is as pretty does.)
Faemike55
Cool photo and interesting but disturbing information
flavia49
fantastic panorama
starship64
Sounds like tamarisk are a real problem! Great shot of them.
whaleman
Nice shot and interesting information!
prutzworks
like the atmospheric depth interesting info
jayfar
A super 'hazy' view Sig.
SunriseGirl
Thanks for sharing your knowledge of the area. You have taken a gorgeous photo with amazing atmospheric prospective. As a child I lived in that area, but never realized the trees I loved (did not know the name of them at the time) were such a menace to the environment.
dakotabluemoon
A very striking image here.
illkirch Online Now!
Invading plants and animals are a problem everywhere. Nice shot. Like the depth
drifterlee
Gorgeous shot!!!!!!!
Rob2753
I love the depth and the atmospeher in this shot
farmerC
Shining shot.
UVDan
Thanks for the information and picture!
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God bless.
jgeorge
I like how the fog describes the varoius 'layers'
junge1
The air is bone dry. This is pollution not fog!
ia-du-lin
beautiful landscape and atmo.
danapommet
I would think that the state would be ripping the Tamarisk trees along the Gila just to prevent the loss of water
junge1
Dana, that is easier said than done. Also, there are a lot of legal issues and costs involved, and you know what that means!