Dr. Norman visited the USGS Menlo Park to provide a lecture describing her research with the Land Change Science Program. Soil erosion and land degradation pose serious threats to sustainable development of arid and semi-arid ecosystems.
Dr. Laura Norman presents "Ecohydrology of Aridland Water Harvesting"
One solution, adapted from prehistoric man, is the installation of erosion control structures (ECS). Qualitatively, ECS have been found to have many impacts on the ecosystem and varied designs are accepted by different communities of practice, yet rejected by others. In the Madrean Archipelago ecoregion on the US-Mexico border, we are investigating ways to quantify changes resulting from the installation of ECS. Visit the USGS website to watch the recording of this presentation (watch video).