Southwest Watershed Research Publications

ARS scientists publish results of their research projects in many formats. Listed below are the publications from research projects conducted at this location. Clicking on a publication title will take you to more information on the publication. Clicking on the reprint icon will take you to the publication reprint.

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: GIS, climate, erosion, fire, grassland, All tags... grazing, remote sensing, shrub, water, wildlife, Fewer tags

Watershed Boundary Dataset

These data sets are complete digital hydrologic unit boundary layers for the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative. These data sets consist of geo-referenced digital data and associated attributes created in accordance with the "FGDC Proposal, Version 2.0 - Federal Standards For Delineation of Hydrologic Unit Boundaries 3/01/02"(http://www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/huc_data.html), and amended with the Federal Standards For Delineation of Hydrologic Unit Boundaries; Version 2.0 October 1, 2004. Polygons are attributed with hydrologic unit codes (HUCs), names, sizes, downstream hydrologic units, types of watersheds, non-contributing areas and flow modifications. Lines are attributed with the highest hydrologic unit code...

Riparian - Invasive and Problematic (Native and non-native) Plants - Salt Cedar (Tamarix ramosissima)

These heatmaps show a top 3 stressor or service, as ranked by participants, and the concentration of participants who reported as working in each municipality or county who also voted for that stressor or service across the landscape. This map shows the percentage of participants from each county and municipality who ranked Salt Cedar (Tamarix spp) as a top 3 ecosystem stressor in the Riparian Invasive Plant category in their region. Symbology represents the percentage of participants with 0% = dark green, 0.0001 % - 24.99% = light green, 25% - 49.99% = yellow, 50% - 74.99% = orange, 75% - 100% = red. All counties and municipalities identified by participants as areas where they work were given a tally for each...

Categories: Data; Types: ArcGIS REST Map Service, ArcGIS Service Definition, Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: desert lcc, dos rios, ecosystem services, ecosystem stressors

Dos Rios CEC Landcover Classification - Temperate Subpolar Broadleaf Evergreen Forest

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile

Vegetation Map Pilot Report

DLCC’s Vegetation Map Pilot is a project envisioned initially as a supervised classification of two or three small areas of the DLCC. DLCC technical stakeholders advised changing from a supervised classification to an object oriented classification (OOC) method.This report presents the findings, feasibility, and lessons-learned during the exploration and object oriented classification process and results of the two sites on the United States-Mexico border, this is needed information before considering a full-scale, Vegetation Mapping Project, to include bigger areas or the totality of the Desert LCC region.

Categories: Data; Tags: Academics & scientific researchers, Aquascalientes, Aquascalientes, Arizona, Arizona, All tags... Baja California, Baja California, California, California, Chihuahuan Desert, Chihuahuan Desert, Coahuila, Coahuila, DATA ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION, Data Acquisition and Development, Data Acquisition and Development, Data.gov Desert LCC, Desert LCC (all), Desert LCC (all), Dos Rios Pilot Area, Dos Rios Pilot Area, Durango, Durango, EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES, Eastern Mojave Desert Pilot Area, Eastern Mojave Desert Pilot Area, Federal resource managers, FinalReport_BOR_R14PG00148_FY14.pdf, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, GIS dataset, GIS dataset, Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Interested public, Jalisco, Jalisco, LCC Network Science Catalog, Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, Methodology/Protocol, Methodology/Protocol, Mexico, Mexico, Nayarit, Nayarit, Nevada, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico, Nuevo León, Nuevo León, Pilot/Case Study, Pilot/Case Study, Querétaro, Querétaro, Report, Report, Report, San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sinaloa, Sonora, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tamaulipas, Texas, Texas, United States, United States, Utah, Utah, Zacatecas, Zacatecas, biota, completed, Fewer tags

Physiological Effects of Climate Change on Species within the Desert LCC

Understanding the physiological impacts of climate change on arid lands species is a critical step towards ensuring the resilience and persistence of such species under changing temperature and moisture regimes. Varying degrees of vulnerability among different species will largely determine their future distributions in the face of climate change. Studies have indicated that Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States are likely to become climate change hotspots, experiencing significantly drier and warmer average conditions by the end of the 21st century. However, relatively few studies have examined specifically the physiological effects of climate change on species inhabiting this region. This manuscript...

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2014, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Academics & scientific researchers, Aquascalientes, Arizona, Baja California, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-08, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Conservation NGOs, Conservation Planning, Desert LCC (all), Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Durango, EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS > CONSERVATION, Federal resource managers, Guanajuato, Informing Conservation Delivery, Jalisco, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Mexico, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nayarit, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mexico, Nuevo León, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Project, Querétaro, Report, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Southwest US, TX-16, TX-23, Tamaulipas, Texas, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, UT-02, United States, Utah, Zacatecas, accepted, adaptation, animals, biota, climate change, completed, conservation, desert ecosystems, literature review, physiology, plants, Fewer tags

Science Brief for Resource Managers: Metacommunity Dynamics of Gila River Fishes

Description: The upper Gila River in New Mexico is one of the few unobstructed rivers in the Colorado River Basin with largely intact native fish populations, including four federally listed and one state listed species.Freshwater systems throughout the West continue to be threatened by human encroachment and water development. Methodologies or decision support tools to evaluate resource management practices that foster an understanding of how fish species adapt to the effects of climate change are critical to future resource management planning.

Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2011, AZ-01, AZ-02, Academics & scientific researchers, Applications and Tools, All tags... Arizona, Colorado River Basin, Conservation NGOs, Data Acquisition and Development, Data.gov Desert LCC, Datasets/Database, Decision Support, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > FISH, Federal resource managers, LCC Network Science Catalog, NM-02, New Mexico, New Mexico, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Publication, Report, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, United States, Upper Gila River Basin, biodiversity, biota, climate change, completed, fish, product, risk, river, water, water management, Fewer tags

Native Nations Climate Adaptation Program Tribal Leaders Summit

Native Nations face unique challenges related to climate change, many of which are detailed in recent reports as part of the U.S. National Climate Assessment (Bennett et al. 2014; Hiza Redsteer et al. 2013). Native Americans have a deep connection to the natural environment within which their livelihoods, cultural identity, and spiritual practices are rooted. Changes to hydrologic regimes, landscapes, and ecosystems, in combination with socio-economic and political factors, amplify tribal vulnerabilities to climate change. In the Southwest, tribes are already experiencing a range of impacts that are at least partially related to climate change. They include serious water supply and water quality issues in the...

Categories: Data; Tags: 2015, Arizona, Data.gov Desert LCC, EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES > EDUCATION/OUTREACH, Informing Conservation Delivery, All tags... LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Report, Training/Outreach/Workshop, Tribes, United States, completed, environment, presentation, Fewer tags

Climate Smart Landscape Planning and Design Phase I Report: Approach, Methods and Conservation Design Workshop Results

Executive SummaryIn 2015 the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative (Desert LCC) made significant progress toward developing a climate smart Landscape Conservation Design for their geography. They developed a methodology for engaging interested partners in conservation planning, hosted two Landscape Conservation Design workshops (one in the U.S. and one in Mexico), developed an understanding of the highest impact pressures and stressors affecting focal ecosystems (springs, including aquatic and riparian resources, streams, including aquatic and riparian resources, and grasslands and shrublands), conducted outreach across the Desert LCC geography to familiarize partners with the Landscape Conservation Design approach...

Categories: Data; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2014, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Academics & scientific researchers, Aquascalientes, Arizona, Baja California, CA-08, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Conservation Design, Conservation NGOs, Conservation Plan/Design/Framework, Conservation Planning, Data.gov Desert LCC, Desert LCC (all), Dos Rios Pilot Area, Durango, EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS > CONSERVATION, Eastern Mojave Desert Pilot Area, Federal resource managers, Guanajuato, Jalisco, LCC Network Science Catalog, Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, Mexico, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nayarit, Nevada, New Mexico, Nuevo León, Policy makers & regulators, Querétaro, Report, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, State agencies, TX-16, TX-23, Tamaulipas, Texas, UT-02, United States, Utah, completed, environment, product, Fewer tags

Final Report: Vulnerability of Riparian Obligate Species in the Rio Grande to the Interactive Effects of Fire, Hydrological Variation and Climate Change

This project had two primary goals: 1) To develop a process for integrating data from multiple sources to improve predictions of climate impacts for wildlife species; and 2) To provide data on climate and related hydrological change, fire behavior under future climates, and species’ distributions for use by researchers and resource managers.We present within this report the process used to integrate species niche models, fire simulations, and vulnerability assessment methods and provide species’ reports that summarize the results of this work. Species niche model analysis provides information on species’ distributions under three climate scenarios and time periods. Niche model analysis allows us to estimate the...

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service, Shapefile; Tags: 2012, Applications and Tools, Data.gov Desert LCC, Decision Support, EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS > CONSERVATION, All tags... Federal resource managers, Fire, Fire, Invasive species, Invasive species, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Map, Methodology/Protocol, NM-01, NM-02, NM-03, New Mexico, New Mexico, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Report, Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Riparian, Riparian, Riparian obligates, Riparian obligates, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, United States, Vulnerability, Vulnerability, Vulnerability Assessment, Wetlands, Wetlands, biota, completed, Fewer tags

Report and Publications: Assessing Evapotranspiration Rate Changes for Proposed Restoration of the Forested Uplands of the DLCC

Final Report - Executive Summary: This final project report is prepared to summarize the research project titled “Assessing evapotranspiration rate changes for proposed restoration of the forested uplands of the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC)” for the Desert LCC of the Bureau of Reclamation as a requirement for closing out the project. This report includes the scope of work, summary of research project, results, and conclusions.Among all of the components of the terrestrial water cycle, evapotranspiration (ET) consumes the largest amount of water. Accurate estimation of ET is very important to understand the influence of ET to the hydrologic response of recharge and runoff processes in the water...

Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, ATMOSPHERE, ATMOSPHERE, ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR, ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR, All tags... AZ-01, Applications and Tools, Arizona, Datasets/Database, EARTH SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE, EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, Federal resource managers, LCC Network Science Catalog, Northern Arizona, Publication, Publication, Publication, Report, United States, WATER VAPOR PROCESSES, WATER VAPOR PROCESSES, adaptation, best management practice (BMP), biota, climate change, completed, drought, ecosystem services, fire, forest, groundwater, hydrology, land cover, management, model, native, plant, product, remote sensing, resilience, restoration, snow, soil, topography, vegetation, water availability, water budget, watershed, Fewer tags

Land Cover Map

The Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative Land Cover Map shows land cover at a regional scale (1:2,500,000). The files provided are graphic design files that can be used to plot a publication-quality, poster-size map.Scale: 1:2,500,000 Map poster dimensions: 34 x 44 inches Data sources:Land cover from North American Environmental Atlas by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2010. Physiographic regions from Natural Earth 1:10 million scale Physical Labels (3.0.0) derived from Patterson’s Physical Map of the World, 2008. Hydrography, populated places, and political boundaries from National Atlas of the United States, 2004. File descriptions: DLCC_LandCover.ai is an Adobe Illustrator file. DLCC_LandCover.pdf...

Categories: Data; Types: ArcGIS REST Map Service, ArcGIS Service Definition, Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Academics & scientific researchers, Conservation NGOs, DATA ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION, Data, Data.gov Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, All tags... Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > LAND USE/LAND COVER, EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES, Federal resource managers, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, Hunters & anglers, Interested public, K-12 students & teachers, LCC Network Science Catalog, Map, Map, Other, Policy makers & regulators, Private land owners, Regional & county planners, State agencies, Tribes, completed, imageryBaseMapsEarthCover, product, product, Fewer tags

Invasive and Problematic Plant Stressors for Riparian Areas in the Chihuahuan Desert

These heatmaps show a top 3 invasive and problematic plant stressor for riparian areas in the Chihuahuan Desert, as ranked by participants, and the concentration of participants who reported as working in each municipality or county who also voted for that stressor across the landscape. Symbology represents the percentage of participants with 0% = dark green, 0.0001 % - 24.99% = light green, 25% - 49.99% = yellow, 50% - 74.99% = orange, 75% - 100% = red. All counties and municipalities identified by participants as areas where they work were given a tally for each of the top 3 stressors that participants chose. Counties with a small number of participants were not adjusted for small sample size. These results were...

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service, Shapefile; Tags: Academics & scientific researchers, BIOSPHERE, BIOSPHERE, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, All tags... Complete, Conservation NGOs, Data, Data.gov Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, EARTH SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, Federal resource managers, INVASIVE SPECIES, INVASIVE SPECIES, LCC Network Science Catalog, Policy makers & regulators, State agencies, desert lcc, dos rios, ecosystem services, ecosystem stressors, environment, Fewer tags

Ecosystem Functionality Stressors for Riparian Areas in the Chihuahuan Desert

These heatmaps show a top 3 riparian ecosystem functionality stressor, as ranked by participants, and the concentration of participants who reported as working in each municipality or county who also voted for that stressor across the landscape. Symbology represents the percentage of participants with 0% = dark green, 0.0001 % - 24.99% = light green, 25% - 49.99% = yellow, 50% - 74.99% = orange, 75% - 100% = red. All counties and municipalities identified by participants as areas where they work were given a tally for each of the top 3 stressors that participants chose. Counties with a small number of participants were not adjusted for small sample size. These results were shared via a webinar hosted by the Desert...

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service, Shapefile; Tags: Academics & scientific researchers, Complete, Conservation NGOs, Data, Data.gov Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, All tags... EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS, Federal resource managers, LCC Network Science Catalog, Policy makers & regulators, State agencies, desert lcc, dos rios, ecosystem services, ecosystem stressors, environment, Fewer tags

Wind and Wildlife Assessment Tool

Welcome to the Wind and Wildlife Landscape Assessment Tool (LAT), a collaboration organized by the American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The LAT is designed as a landscape-level planning tool to identify sensitive wildlife habitat and areas that are likely to have low wildlife risk where wind energy development could be prioritized. Although the siting of individual wind energy projects will require on-the-ground surveys to verify data shown here, our hope is that this tool will provide stakeholders with information that facilitates the siting of wind energy in areas with minimal impacts to wildlife, as well as the development of conservation plans, monitoring plans and mitigation...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: English, GIS, US, agriculture, amphibian, All tags... assessment, bird, contamination, development, endangered, energy, fish, grazing, invertebrate, mammal, map, mining, oil, plant, priority, protected area, rare, renewable, reptile, threat, threatened, vegetation, wildlife, Fewer tags

Ecoregion-Based Conservation in the Chihuahuan Desert

A Vision for the Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert, shared by two nations, is one of the most biologically rich desert ecoregions in the world, alive with large mammals, birds, reptiles and an unmatched diversity of cactus species. The desert’s rivers, streams and springs are considered to be of global significance, home to fish species found nowhere else on earth. Our vision is a Chihuahuan Desert where governments, local communities, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, landowners, and other stakeholders are working together to ensure that the richness and diversity of wildlife, habitats, natural communities, and ecological processes of the Chihuahuan Desert are conserved and, where necessary,...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Chihuahuan Desert, assessment, biodiversity, connectivity, development, All tags... fish, grassland, invasive, invertebrate, map, plant, priority, protected area, rare, spring, threat, water, wildlife, Fewer tags

United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Southwestern Region Plan Revision

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 requires every national forest or grassland managed by the U.S. Forest Service to develop and maintain a Land and Resource Management Plan (often referred to as a forest plan). The forest plan is the principle long-range guidance document for each forest or grassland, providing direction for project and activity decision making. Forest plans articulate goals and objectives, the kinds of uses that are suitable for areas of a national forest, management standards and guidelines that apply to different kinds of activities, and the designation of special areas like Research Natural Areas. Forest plans are strategic in nature and do not compel any action or authorize...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Arizona, New Mexico, desert, fire, grassland, All tags... grazing, invasive, management, protected area, recreation, riparian, scrub/shrub, spring, stream, threatened & endangered, wetland, Fewer tags

IABIN -Species and Specimens Thematic Network

The Coordinating Institution for the Species and Specimens Thematic Network is a Consortium leads by "Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, INBio of Costa Rica" . The members of the consortrium are: Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, INBio (Costa Rica) Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (Colombia) (Colombia) Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (Argentina) Red de Herbarios de Centroamérica y el Caribe Natureserve (USA) The goal is to implement an electronic and institutional network dedicated to regional specimen information. Some of the specimen data of any given country resides in its own museums and herbariums, although a significant part of the data resides in museums...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: GIS, Mexico, amphibian, bird, fish, All tags... invertebrate, mammal, map, plant, reptile, Fewer tags

Historical and Contemporary Geographic Data Reveal Complex Spatial and Temporal Responses of Vegetation to Climate and Land Stewardship

Vegetation and land-cover changes are not always directional but follow complex trajectories over space and time, driven by changing anthropogenic and abiotic conditions. We present a multi-observational approach to land-change analysis that addresses the complex geographic and temporal variability of vegetation changes related to climate and land use. Using land-ownership data as a proxy for land-use practices, multitemporal land-cover maps, and repeat photography dating to the late 19th century, we examine changing spatial and temporal distributions of two vegetation types with high conservation value in the southwestern United States: grasslands and riparian vegetation. In contrast to many reported vegetation...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Arizona, climate, grassland, land cover, management, All tags... map, restoration, riparian, shrub, vegetation, Fewer tags

Perceptions of the condition of semiarid grasslands under grazing regimes in Mexico/ Percepción de la condición del pastizal bajo pastoreo, en México semiárido

A battery of questions was developed and applied to different stakeholders immersed in knowledge of the condition and the use of grazing of grasslands. One hundred people were surveyed amongst livestock producers (both from private ranches and from communal ejidos), and students and researchers at regional institutions involved in agricultural sciences in different states of Mexico: Coahuila, Durango, San Luis Potosí, and Jalisco. The objective of the survey was to determine aspects of stakeholders’ interpretation of the condition of grasslands in their region under conditions of extensive grazing, such as soil condition, harvest efficiency, vegetation condition, openness to community organizing of grazing, capacity...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Mexico, Spanish, cultural, desertification, economic, All tags... erosion, grassland, grazing, management, outreach, ownership, policy, soil, vegetation, Fewer tags