Comparison of Drought Response between Taraxacum officinale and Delphinium nuttallianum
Conference Year
January 2022
Abstract
The state of Colorado continues to see more frequent drought conditions as global warming raises average temperatures, increases evaporation rates, and brings earlier snowmelt. The common dandelion (T. officinale) is a non-native plant in the Gunnison Basin, but as drought conditions increase in frequency, how are the plant’s abundance levels reacting compared to the native Nuttall’s larkspur (D. nuttallianum)? This was investigated by analyzing high resolution drone imagery, using GIS and spatial software, and running complex statistical analyses to compare years with varying degrees of drought. Research was conducted at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, 2019-2021.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Alison Brody
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Biological Science
Primary Research Category
Biological Sciences
Comparison of Drought Response between Taraxacum officinale and Delphinium nuttallianum
The state of Colorado continues to see more frequent drought conditions as global warming raises average temperatures, increases evaporation rates, and brings earlier snowmelt. The common dandelion (T. officinale) is a non-native plant in the Gunnison Basin, but as drought conditions increase in frequency, how are the plant’s abundance levels reacting compared to the native Nuttall’s larkspur (D. nuttallianum)? This was investigated by analyzing high resolution drone imagery, using GIS and spatial software, and running complex statistical analyses to compare years with varying degrees of drought. Research was conducted at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, 2019-2021.