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Southwest Biological Science Center

The SBSC provides sound science, specialized expertise, and objective and timely tools to Federal and State agencies and the public to inform land management decision-making, and support thriving landscapes for the Southwest’s abundant natural resources and vast public lands. This research assists those who manage, conserve, and rehabilitate rivers and arid regions of the nation.

News

New backcountry alert system warns Grand Canyon visitors about flash floods in areas without cellular signal

New backcountry alert system warns Grand Canyon visitors about flash floods in areas without cellular signal

Ecological Thresholds, Abiotic Stress, and Climate Change: A Conceptual Framework

Ecological Thresholds, Abiotic Stress, and Climate Change: A Conceptual Framework

The Changing Range: USGS initiatives support resilient ecosystems and economies on the Colorado Plateau

The Changing Range: USGS initiatives support resilient ecosystems and economies on the Colorado Plateau

Publications

Soil moisture partitioning between under canopy and interspace environments in shrublands of the northern Chihuahuan Desert Soil moisture partitioning between under canopy and interspace environments in shrublands of the northern Chihuahuan Desert

Soil moisture is a key link between hydrologic and ecologic processes in desert shrublands. Understanding how soil moisture is spatially distributed in desert shrublands provides valuable insights into how shrubs use and impact limiting water resources, and how shrublands may respond to future meteorological and climate change. Our goals were to determine how soil moisture is partitioned...
Authors
Juan Pinos, Keegan Hammond, Michael C. Duniway, John P. Anderson, Niall P. Hanan, Matthew D. Petrie

Precipitation pulse dynamics are not ubiquitous: A global meta-analysis of plant and ecosystem carbon- and water-related pulse responses Precipitation pulse dynamics are not ubiquitous: A global meta-analysis of plant and ecosystem carbon- and water-related pulse responses

Ecosystem responses to precipitation pulses (“pulse responses”) exert a large control over global carbon, water, and energy cycles. However, it is unclear how the timing and magnitude of pulse responses will vary across ecosystems as precipitation regimes shift under accelerating climate change. To address this issue, this study evaluates how plants and ecosystems respond to...
Authors
Emma Reich, Jessica Guo, Drew Peltier, Emily C. Palmquist, Kimberly Samuels-Crow, Rohan Boone, Kiona Ogle

Grand Canyon River Alert System—Implementing an emergency alert system for wilderness recreation Grand Canyon River Alert System—Implementing an emergency alert system for wilderness recreation

The Grand Canyon River Alert System (GCRAS) provides government-issued emergency alerts to wilderness recreationalists in the Grand Canyon, who are often outside the bounds of cellular signal reception. GCRAS is a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center), National Weather Service, Coconino County Emergency Management, and National...
Authors
Joseph E. Thomas, Thomas M. Gushue, Erica Byerley, Paul Grams

Science

SBSC: Providing Unbiased Actionable Science & Information to Support Natural Resource Management Needs of the U.S. & Department of the Interior Priorities

The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is uniquely positioned in the Colorado River Basin to provide sound information, specialized expertise, and innovative tools to support the management and sustained use of natural resources on public and Tribal lands in the Southwest U.S.
SBSC: Providing Unbiased Actionable Science & Information to Support Natural Resource Management Needs of the U.S. & Department of the Interior Priorities

SBSC: Providing Unbiased Actionable Science & Information to Support Natural Resource Management Needs of the U.S. & Department of the Interior Priorities

The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is uniquely positioned in the Colorado River Basin to provide sound information, specialized expertise, and innovative tools to support the management and sustained use of natural resources on public and Tribal lands in the Southwest U.S.
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USGS Science Syntheses for Public Lands Management

Scientific information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. Development of new science is occurring at rates that can make it challenging for biologists, resource managers, decision makers, private landowners, and other stakeholders to ensure they are using up-to-date, high-quality science information to inform their decisions. Further...
USGS Science Syntheses for Public Lands Management

USGS Science Syntheses for Public Lands Management

Scientific information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. Development of new science is occurring at rates that can make it challenging for biologists, resource managers, decision makers, private landowners, and other stakeholders to ensure they are using up-to-date, high-quality science information to inform their decisions. Further...
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WebDART: A Cutting-edge Web Tool that Evaluates Land Condition

WebDART is an online ecological assessment tool available to a wide audience that incorporates Landsat satellite remote sensing imagery, topography, geology, soil conditions, and rangeland geospatial and vegetation mapping to compare altered terrain with an unspoiled area that has similar characteristics in the same region. The tool gives resource managers, landowners, companies, and other...
WebDART: A Cutting-edge Web Tool that Evaluates Land Condition

WebDART: A Cutting-edge Web Tool that Evaluates Land Condition

WebDART is an online ecological assessment tool available to a wide audience that incorporates Landsat satellite remote sensing imagery, topography, geology, soil conditions, and rangeland geospatial and vegetation mapping to compare altered terrain with an unspoiled area that has similar characteristics in the same region. The tool gives resource managers, landowners, companies, and other...
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