NITROGEN-FIXING TREES

Seventy-eight percent of the earth's atmosphere is composed of nitrogen gas (N2) but this is not
available as a nitrogenous nutrient for plants. Instead, it must be "fixed" (reduced) into
ammonium (NH4) in order to be used as a nutrient - a process that only some bacteria are able to
do. Some of these nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Rhizobium and closely related bacteria) live in
association with leguminous plants - the plant family that used to be called Leguminosae, but
now is called Fabaceae. Some of the nitrogen fixed by these bacteria is passed to the plants - an
important contribution to the fertility of deserts.

Three of the main types of tree that occur in desert regions have nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their
roots - mesquites, desert ironwood and paloverdes.

Mesquites

There are two common mesquites in the deserts of southwestern USA - velvet mesquite
(Prosopis velutina) and honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), although these two species can
hybridise where their ranges overlap. They are important nitrogen-fixing trees, with pinnate
leaves which are shed in periods of drought. The leaves are an important source of food for
browsing animals, and the seed pods also are eaten by many animals.

Mesquite in full leaf after a period of rains.

Mesquite inflorescences are clusters of pale yellow catkins, about 7 cm long. They are pollinated
by bees, resulting in legume-like pods later in the season. (See bruchid beetles for an image of
honey mesquite pods).

Paloverde

There are several types of palo verde (which means "green stems"): foothills palo verde
(Cercidium microphyllum) which is usually found with saguaro on desert plains and rocky
skopes of foothills and mountains; blue palo verde (C. floridum) usually found in washes, and
Mexican palo verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) usually in moist valley soils. All can produce small
leaves after periods of rain, but the leaves are shed in drought conditions and these plants
typically photosynthesize through their stems.
 Photosynthetic stems of a palo verde

Paloverde produces large numbers of yellow flowers each year, pollinated by bees
Fruits of foothill paloverde. These fruits and those of other nitrogen-fixing trees such as mesquite
are often colonised by larvae of the seed-eating bruchid beetles.

Desert ironwood

Olneya tesota (Leguminosae) is a frost-sensitive tree, found only in the southernmost part of the
USA, but more commonly in Mexico. Because of its frost-sensitivity, its presence is used as an
indicator of sites where it is safe to grow citrus (also frost-sensitive) when desert land is cleared
for irrigated agriculture. Unlike the other nitrogen-fixing trees, desert ironwood usually retains
its leaves over most of the year - even in periods of drought.
Typical growth form of desert ironwood, but trees such as this are becoming increasingly rare
because there is a very high demand for the hard wood, which is used for making ornaments.

Pinnate leaves of desert ironwood

 Desert ironwood flowers

DESERT BIOME Great Basin Desert

North American Deserts gallery Sonoran Desert
Ecological processes gallery Mojave Desert
Cactus gallery Chihuahuan Desert
Mammal gallery Baja California desert
Human impact gallery
Bird and reptile gallery
Bruchid beetles Saguaro cactus
Soil crusts Harris hawk Nitrogen-fixing trees
Alluvial fans Bajadas Coyote
Creosote bush Nurse plants Yucca