Southwest Biological Science Center
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The Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) conducts quality, objective research on the lands and aquatic systems of the Southwest. This research can assist those who manage, conserve, and rehabilitate the arid regions of the nation. Click on SCIENCE in the sidebar to the left to explore SBSC science in more detail.
Terrestrial Dryland Ecology Branch
The Terrestrial Dryland Ecology (TDE) Branch of the SBSC studies the biology, ecology,and processes of semi-arid and arid lands (known as drylands). TDE researchers study plant-soil-water relationships and the wildlife found in drylands.
TDE ScienceRiver Ecosystem Science Branch
The River Ecosystem Science (RES) Branch of the SBSC, which includes the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), studies the biology, ecology, and processes of the rivers in the Southwest.
RES (GCMRC) ScienceSBSC Quick Links
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Grand Canyon Monitoring & Research Center (GCMRC) - Home Page
Grand Canyon Monitoring & Research Center (GCMRC) - Maps & Data
Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS)
A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts of Western U.S. Drylands (PDF)
SBSC ScienceNews
Vegetation Recovery on Abandoned Oil and Gas Well Sites is Variable on Colorado Plateau
Recovery of vegetation on plugged and abandoned oil and gas well sites on the Colorado Plateau is influenced by time, moisture, nonnative plants and the type of plant community that was originally in place before well sites were constructed, according to a recently published study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Where Have All the Turtles Gone, and Why Should We Care?
A recently published paper on the global status of turtles and their ecological roles generated quite a bit of media interest.
Large-scale Review of Amphibian Species and Community Response to Climate Change
Amphibian species and community richness has been declining in North America and climate change may play a role in these declines. Global climate change has led to a range shift of many wildlife species and thus understanding how these changes in species distribution can be used to predict amphibian community responses that may improve conservation efforts.
Publications
Modelling gully-erosion susceptibility in a semi-arid region, Iran: Investigation of applicability of certainty factor and maximum entropy models
Gully erosion susceptibility mapping is a fundamental tool for land-use planning aimed at mitigating land degradation. However, the capabilities of some state-of-the-art data-mining models for developing accurate maps of gully erosion susceptibility have not yet been fully investigated. This study assessed and...
Azareh, Ali; Rahmati, Omid; Rafiei-Sardooi, Elham; Sankey, Joel B.; Lee, Saro; Shahabi, Himan; Bin Ahmad, Baharin On the development of a magnetic susceptibility‐based tracer for aeolian sediment transport research
Aeolian processes — the erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment by wind — play important geomorphological and ecological roles in drylands. These processes are known to impact the spatial patterns of soil, nutrients, plant‐available water, and vegetation in many dryland ecosystems. Tracers, such as rare earth elements and stable isotopes...
Ravi, Sujith; Gonzales, Howell B.; Buynevich, Ilya V.; Li, Junran; Sankey, Joel B.; Dukes, David; Wang, Guan Landscape pivot points and responses to water balance in national parks of the southwest US
A recent drying trend that is expected to continue in the southwestern US underscores the need for site‐specific and near real‐time understanding of vegetation vulnerability so that land management actions can be implemented at the right time and place.We related the annual integrated normalized difference vegetation index (iNDVI), a proxy for...
Thoma, David P.; Munson, Seth M.; Witwicki, Dana L.