In the United States, three “hot deserts” receive precipitation in the summer months (Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan) and one “cold desert” receives precipitation in the winter (Great Basin).
These ecosystems receive less than 10 in (250 mm) of annual precipitation. Far from desolate, the deserts support high levels of biodiversity including iconic species such as Joshua trees, Mexican free-tailed bats, desert pupfishes, cutthroat trout, pronghorn antelope, desert tortoises, Gila monsters, sage grouse, bighorn sheep, desert iguanas, bristlecone pines, cuckoos, ocotillo, desert poppies, saguaro cactus, kangaroo rats and pigmy rabbits.
Desert biodiversity is the result of evolutionary divergence driven by landscape heterogeneity such as the remote valleys, mountain tops, dry lake beds, sand dunes, and caves across the West. By 12,000 BCE, when the Pleistocene ended, lakes that filled many valleys receded, leaving fishes and other aquatic animals isolated among highly divergent aquatic habitats including lakes with salinities that vary from fresh water to three times the salinity of ocean water. The isolation of populations in terrestrial refugia and desert oases provided the conditions for evolutionary divergence that led to a rich biodiversity.
However, deserts are also impacted by anthropomorphic stressors such as water withdrawal, mining, roads, pollution, over-grazing, energy development, invasive and feral species, and urban sprawl.
Desert Research
Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative: Effectiveness Monitoring
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS desert research is listed below. A complete listing of USGS desert data is available from the button below.
Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the time periods 1980-2010, 2040-2070 (RCP8.5) and (RCP4.5)
Cover of Woody and Herbaceous Functional Groups in Burned and Unburned Plots, Mojave Desert, 2009-2013
Data release for persistence of historical population structure in an endangered species despite near-complete biome conversion in Californias San Joaquin Desert
Community-level riparian plant traits, Colorado River, Grand Canyon, 2013-2015Data
Fire Patterns among Ecological Zones in the California Desert, 1984-2013
Variable Terrestrial GPS Telemetry Detection Rates: Parts 1 - 7Data
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS desert research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS desert publications is available from the button below.
A river of change—The Rio Grande in the Big Bend region
Biotic and abiotic treatments as a bet-hedging approach to restoring plant communities and soil functions
Biocrust and the soil surface: Influence of climate, disturbance, and biocrust recovery on soil surface roughness
Climate change and other factors influencing the saguaro cactus
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report
Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts
Plant growth and biocrust-fire interactions across five North American deserts
Local climate adaptations in two ubiquitous Mojave Desert shrub species, Ambrosia dumosa and Larrea tridentata
Biotic vs abiotic controls on temporal sensitivity of primary production to precipitation across North American drylands
Linking behavioral states to landscape features for improved conservation management
The demographic and ecological factors shaping diversification among rare Astragalus species
A chemical and bio‐herbicide mixture increased exotic invaders, both targeted and non‐targeted, across a diversely invaded landscape after fire
Explore our science using the software below.
In the United States, three “hot deserts” receive precipitation in the summer months (Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan) and one “cold desert” receives precipitation in the winter (Great Basin).
These ecosystems receive less than 10 in (250 mm) of annual precipitation. Far from desolate, the deserts support high levels of biodiversity including iconic species such as Joshua trees, Mexican free-tailed bats, desert pupfishes, cutthroat trout, pronghorn antelope, desert tortoises, Gila monsters, sage grouse, bighorn sheep, desert iguanas, bristlecone pines, cuckoos, ocotillo, desert poppies, saguaro cactus, kangaroo rats and pigmy rabbits.
Desert biodiversity is the result of evolutionary divergence driven by landscape heterogeneity such as the remote valleys, mountain tops, dry lake beds, sand dunes, and caves across the West. By 12,000 BCE, when the Pleistocene ended, lakes that filled many valleys receded, leaving fishes and other aquatic animals isolated among highly divergent aquatic habitats including lakes with salinities that vary from fresh water to three times the salinity of ocean water. The isolation of populations in terrestrial refugia and desert oases provided the conditions for evolutionary divergence that led to a rich biodiversity.
However, deserts are also impacted by anthropomorphic stressors such as water withdrawal, mining, roads, pollution, over-grazing, energy development, invasive and feral species, and urban sprawl.
Desert Research
Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative: Effectiveness Monitoring
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS desert research is listed below. A complete listing of USGS desert data is available from the button below.
Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the time periods 1980-2010, 2040-2070 (RCP8.5) and (RCP4.5)
Cover of Woody and Herbaceous Functional Groups in Burned and Unburned Plots, Mojave Desert, 2009-2013
Data release for persistence of historical population structure in an endangered species despite near-complete biome conversion in Californias San Joaquin Desert
Community-level riparian plant traits, Colorado River, Grand Canyon, 2013-2015Data
Fire Patterns among Ecological Zones in the California Desert, 1984-2013
Variable Terrestrial GPS Telemetry Detection Rates: Parts 1 - 7Data
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS desert research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS desert publications is available from the button below.
A river of change—The Rio Grande in the Big Bend region
Biotic and abiotic treatments as a bet-hedging approach to restoring plant communities and soil functions
Biocrust and the soil surface: Influence of climate, disturbance, and biocrust recovery on soil surface roughness
Climate change and other factors influencing the saguaro cactus
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report
Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts
Plant growth and biocrust-fire interactions across five North American deserts
Local climate adaptations in two ubiquitous Mojave Desert shrub species, Ambrosia dumosa and Larrea tridentata
Biotic vs abiotic controls on temporal sensitivity of primary production to precipitation across North American drylands
Linking behavioral states to landscape features for improved conservation management
The demographic and ecological factors shaping diversification among rare Astragalus species
A chemical and bio‐herbicide mixture increased exotic invaders, both targeted and non‐targeted, across a diversely invaded landscape after fire
Explore our science using the software below.