Distribution of the Boojum Tree, Idria columnaris on the Coast of Sonora, Mexico as Influenced by Climate

• Main Authors: Humphrey, Robert R., Marx, David B.
• Other Authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
• Language: en_US
• Published: University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) 1980
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/550747

In a previous study a possible relationship between climate, largely relative humidity, and the restricted distribution of Idria columnaris Kellogg in an area near the Gulf of California coast in Sonora, Mexico was proposed. This hypothesis has been tested and, to a degree at least, confirmed here by supportive data. Precipitation data from 4 stations for a 5-year period and relative humidity records for from 33-38 months indicate a positive correlation between high relative humidity and the occurrence of Idria. There was no correlation between either temperature or total annual precipitation and Idria occurrence. The establishment of Idria in this arid environment appears to be possible only where the limited precipitation is combined with a persistently high humidity.