Because off-road-vehicle users have become more aware of the damage they cause, the amount of denudation at this site has not increased except on the middle right slope. Gullies have filled and new ones have cut as the denudation rate continues to greatly exceed anything in an undisturbed environment. Note that the toe of the slope has more sediment in 1999 than in 1976, as a result of the high rates of hillslope erosion. Despite the severe and on-going disturbance, most of the individual plants remain, and some Larrea individuals are much larger than they were in 1976. The denudation has reduced competition for water for the remaining individuals, which grow large as a result. Denudation was not absolute on some hillslopes; plants that appeared to be smashed but still alive in 1972 are large in 1999. Recovery from severe disturbances is highly dependent on the initial conditions following abandonment, and rootstocks that are not destroyed can increase the rate of vegetation recovery. (Dominic Oldershaw)