Underground Explorers

The Anza Borrego–Laguna Salada transborder region (USA–Mexico) spans Southern California and Baja California, forming a dynamic desert ecosystem of dry lake beds, mountains rising over 5,500 feet, hot springs in Jacumba, and the vast Laguna Salada dry lake in Baja California's Desert, which lies about 10 meters below sea level. We will study four sites across this landscape. Anza-Borrego, famous for its native wildflower displays, is widely and severely infested by invasive plants known to jeopardize mycorrhizal fungal diversity and its signature wildflower displays. We will sample paired sites, one without a history of invasive vegetation to document mycorrhizal fungal diversity unimpacted by invasive vegetation, and a second site infested by invasive plants to document impacts to mycorrhizal diversity. In Jacumba, we will sample both sides of the border to examine the wall's influence on biodiversity, and in Laguna Salada we will test fungal activity across dry and wet seasons.