Miguel Villarreal, PhD
Dr. Miguel Villarreal is a Research Geographer with the Western Geographic Science Center at Moffett Field, CA.
Wildfire at the Crossroads
Wildfire at the Crossroads
Fire is an essential ecological process and management tool but can also be detrimental to life and property. Our findings provide a new depiction of fire regimes in the Sky Islands that can help inform fire management, restoration and regional conservation planning, fostered by local and traditional knowledge and collaboration among landowners and managers.
Remote Sensing of Biological Soil Crusts
Remote Sensing of Biological Soil Crusts
Determining the spatial extent and condition of biocrusts across landscapes continues to present considerable challenges to scientists. Remote sensing offers promising opportunities to detect and characterize biocrust communities, differentiate among biocrust community types, and monitor changes in biocrust distribution across dryland landscapes globally.
Miguel’s research involves using earth observation systems and spatial analyses to better understand how disturbances such as wildfire, invasive species, and energy development affect ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human communities, and to provide land managers information to help reduce risk and facilitate recovery after a disturbance. His geographic focus is on water-limited (dryland) regions of the west, which are particularly sensitive to complex interactions between human land use, natural disturbances, and climate change.
Miguel’s current research projects include studies of wildfire and wildlife in the Sky Island region of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, monitoring the impacts and recovery of oil and gas and solar energy developments on the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Deserts, and mapping and monitoring biological soil crusts and invasive grasses across the western US. He works closely with federal agency partners (NPS, USFWS, BLM, USFS, DOD) to develop and implement research projects.
Current and recent research projects
- Remote Sensing for Resource Management, Project Chief (2015-Present)
- Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation (SWEDR), Co-Project Chief (2015-Present)
- Biological soil crust ecology and function from space, Co-Project Chief (2020-Present)
- Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative: Strategies to reduce fire risk and improve viewsheds along the U.S. southern border, Co-Investigator (2019-Present)
- Remote Sensing for Monitoring Riverside East Solar Development Focus Area (DFA) and for Desert Energy Transmission Corridors, Principal Investigator (2021-Present)
- Assessing change in forest density and fuel loads in the absence of fire (1941-2018) at Lassen Volcanic NP using historic aerial photos, Principal Investigator (2019-Present)
- Evaluating the response of California Delta riparian ecosystems to anthropogenic and climate stressors, Principal investigator (2019-2021)
- Detection and monitoring of fire-prone early season invasive grasses in the Southwest, Co-investigator (2020-2021)
- Wildfire probability mapping based on regional soil moisture models. Co-investigator, (2020-2022)
- Assessing Vulnerability to Drought in Dryland Ecosystems of the Western U.S. Co-investigator, (2016-2018)
Professional Experience
2011-Present: Research Geographer, U.S. Geological Survey
2011-2013: Mendenhall Fellow, U.S. Geological Survey
2009-2011: Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona
2006-2009: Research Associate, Arizona Remote Sensing Center, University of Arizona
2001- 2005: Research Associate, Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Arizona
B.A. from the University of California, Davis
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 17
Filter Total Items: 27
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Filter Total Items: 63
Framing scenarios of binational water policy with a tool to visualize, quantify and valuate changes in ecosystem services Framing scenarios of binational water policy with a tool to visualize, quantify and valuate changes in ecosystem services
In the Santa Cruz Watershed, located on the Arizona-Sonora portion of the U.S.-Mexico border, an international wastewater treatment plant treats wastewater from cities on both sides of the border, before discharging it into the river in Arizona. These artificial flows often subsidize important perennial surface water ecosystems in the region. An explicit understanding of the benefits of
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Miguel L. Villarreal, Rewati Niraula, Thomas Meixner, George Frisvold, William Labiosa
Mapping landscape phenology preference of yellow-billed cuckoo with AVHRR data Mapping landscape phenology preference of yellow-billed cuckoo with AVHRR data
We mapped habitat for threatened Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccycus americanus occidentalis) in the State of Arizona using the temporal greenness dynamics of the landscape, or the landscape phenology. Landscape phenometrics were derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for 1998 and 1999 by using Fourier harmonic analysis...
Authors
Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Miguel L. Villarreal, Charles van Riper
Biodiversity losses and conservation trade-offs: Assessing future urban growth scenarios for a North American trade corridor Biodiversity losses and conservation trade-offs: Assessing future urban growth scenarios for a North American trade corridor
The Sonoran Desert and Apache Highlands ecoregions of North America are areas of exceptionally high plant and vertebrate biodiversity. However, much of the vertebrate biodiversity is supported by only a few vegetation types with limited distributions, some of which are increasingly threatened by changing land uses. We assessed the impacts of two future urban growth scenarios on...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Kenneth G. Boykin
Trends in landscape and vegetation change and implications for the Santa Cruz Watershed Trends in landscape and vegetation change and implications for the Santa Cruz Watershed
Monitoring and characterizing the interactive effects of land use and climate on land surface processes is a primary focus of land change science, and of particular concern in arid Wells Distribution in Shallow Groundwater Areas Pumping Trends Increase Streamflow Extent Declines 27 environments where both landscapes and livelihoods can be impacted by short-term climate variability. Using...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman, Robert H. Webb, Raymond M. Turner
Assessing the vulnerability of human and biological communities to changing ecosystem services using a GIS-based multi-criteria decision support tool Assessing the vulnerability of human and biological communities to changing ecosystem services using a GIS-based multi-criteria decision support tool
In this paper we describe an application of a GIS-based multi-criteria decision support web tool that models and evaluates relative changes in ecosystem services to policy and land management decisions. The Santa Cruz Watershed Ecosystem Portfolio (SCWEPM) was designed to provide credible forecasts of responses to ecosystem drivers and stressors and to illustrate the role of land use...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman, William B. Labiosa
The Colorado Plateau V: research, environmental planning, and management for collaborative conservation The Colorado Plateau V: research, environmental planning, and management for collaborative conservation
Roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States, the Colorado Plateau covers some 130,000 square miles of sparsely vegetated plateaus, mesas, canyons, arches, and cliffs in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. With elevations ranging from 3,000 to 14,000 feet, the natural systems found within the plateau are dramatically varied, from desert to alpine...
Mapping socio-environmentally vulnerable populations access and exposure to ecosystem services at the U.S.-Mexico borderlands Mapping socio-environmentally vulnerable populations access and exposure to ecosystem services at the U.S.-Mexico borderlands
Socio-environmental vulnerable populations are often unrepresented in land-use planning yet have great potential for loss when exposed to changes in ecosystem services. Administrative boundaries, cultural differences, and language barriers increase the disassociation between land-use management and marginalized populations living in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. This paper describes the...
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Miguel L. Villarreal, Francisco Lara-Valencia, Yongping Yuan, Wenming Nie, Sylvia Wilson, Gladys Amaya, Rachel Sleeter
Examining wildlife responses to phenology and wildfire using a landscape-scale camera trap network Examining wildlife responses to phenology and wildfire using a landscape-scale camera trap network
Between 2001 and 2009, the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project deployed 174 camera traps in the mountains of southern Arizona to record jaguar activity. In addition to jaguars, the motion-activated cameras, placed along known wildlife travel routes, recorded occurrences of ~ 20 other animal species. We examined temporal relationships of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Leila Gass, Laura Norman, Joel B. Sankeya, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Dennis McMacken, Jack L. Childs, Roy E. Petrakis
Developing spatially explicit footprints of plausible land-use scenarios in the Santa Cruz Watershed, Arizona and Sonora Developing spatially explicit footprints of plausible land-use scenarios in the Santa Cruz Watershed, Arizona and Sonora
The SLEUTH urban growth model is applied to a binational dryland watershed to envision and evaluate plausible future scenarios of land use change into the year 2050. Our objective was to create a suite of geospatial footprints portraying potential land use change that can be used to aid binational decision-makers in assessing the impacts relative to sustainability of natural resources...
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Mark Feller, Miguel L. Villarreal
Reaching toward the integration of research into resource management activities: A 20 year evaluation of Colorado Biennial Conferences Reaching toward the integration of research into resource management activities: A 20 year evaluation of Colorado Biennial Conferences
No abstract available.
Authors
Martha E. Lee, Carena J. van Riper, Charles van Riper, Gerard T. Kyle
An inventory and monitoring plan for a Sonoran Desert ecosystem; Barry M. Goldwater Range-West An inventory and monitoring plan for a Sonoran Desert ecosystem; Barry M. Goldwater Range-West
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma manages the Barry M. Goldwater Range-West, which encompasses approximately 2,800 square kilometers of Sonoran Desert habitat in southwestern Arizona. The Barry M. Goldwater Range is a major U.S. military installation designed as an air combat training location for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, but it also includes some of the most pristine desert...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Charles van Riper, Robert E. Lovich, Robert L. Palmer, Travis Nauman, Sarah E. Studd, Sam Drake, Abigail S. Rosenberg, Jim Malusa, Ronald L. Pearce
Development of a high-resolution binational vegetation map of the Santa Cruz River riparian corridor and surrounding watershed, southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico Development of a high-resolution binational vegetation map of the Santa Cruz River riparian corridor and surrounding watershed, southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico
This report summarizes the development of a binational vegetation map developed for the Santa Cruz Watershed, which straddles the southern border of Arizona and the northern border of Sonora, Mexico. The map was created as an environmental input to the Santa Cruz Watershed Ecosystem Portfolio Model (SCWEPM) that is being created by the U.S. Geological Survey for the watershed. The SCWEPM...
Authors
Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 17
Filter Total Items: 27
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 63
Framing scenarios of binational water policy with a tool to visualize, quantify and valuate changes in ecosystem services Framing scenarios of binational water policy with a tool to visualize, quantify and valuate changes in ecosystem services
In the Santa Cruz Watershed, located on the Arizona-Sonora portion of the U.S.-Mexico border, an international wastewater treatment plant treats wastewater from cities on both sides of the border, before discharging it into the river in Arizona. These artificial flows often subsidize important perennial surface water ecosystems in the region. An explicit understanding of the benefits of
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Miguel L. Villarreal, Rewati Niraula, Thomas Meixner, George Frisvold, William Labiosa
Mapping landscape phenology preference of yellow-billed cuckoo with AVHRR data Mapping landscape phenology preference of yellow-billed cuckoo with AVHRR data
We mapped habitat for threatened Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccycus americanus occidentalis) in the State of Arizona using the temporal greenness dynamics of the landscape, or the landscape phenology. Landscape phenometrics were derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for 1998 and 1999 by using Fourier harmonic analysis...
Authors
Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Miguel L. Villarreal, Charles van Riper
Biodiversity losses and conservation trade-offs: Assessing future urban growth scenarios for a North American trade corridor Biodiversity losses and conservation trade-offs: Assessing future urban growth scenarios for a North American trade corridor
The Sonoran Desert and Apache Highlands ecoregions of North America are areas of exceptionally high plant and vertebrate biodiversity. However, much of the vertebrate biodiversity is supported by only a few vegetation types with limited distributions, some of which are increasingly threatened by changing land uses. We assessed the impacts of two future urban growth scenarios on...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Kenneth G. Boykin
Trends in landscape and vegetation change and implications for the Santa Cruz Watershed Trends in landscape and vegetation change and implications for the Santa Cruz Watershed
Monitoring and characterizing the interactive effects of land use and climate on land surface processes is a primary focus of land change science, and of particular concern in arid Wells Distribution in Shallow Groundwater Areas Pumping Trends Increase Streamflow Extent Declines 27 environments where both landscapes and livelihoods can be impacted by short-term climate variability. Using...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman, Robert H. Webb, Raymond M. Turner
Assessing the vulnerability of human and biological communities to changing ecosystem services using a GIS-based multi-criteria decision support tool Assessing the vulnerability of human and biological communities to changing ecosystem services using a GIS-based multi-criteria decision support tool
In this paper we describe an application of a GIS-based multi-criteria decision support web tool that models and evaluates relative changes in ecosystem services to policy and land management decisions. The Santa Cruz Watershed Ecosystem Portfolio (SCWEPM) was designed to provide credible forecasts of responses to ecosystem drivers and stressors and to illustrate the role of land use...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman, William B. Labiosa
The Colorado Plateau V: research, environmental planning, and management for collaborative conservation The Colorado Plateau V: research, environmental planning, and management for collaborative conservation
Roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States, the Colorado Plateau covers some 130,000 square miles of sparsely vegetated plateaus, mesas, canyons, arches, and cliffs in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. With elevations ranging from 3,000 to 14,000 feet, the natural systems found within the plateau are dramatically varied, from desert to alpine...
Mapping socio-environmentally vulnerable populations access and exposure to ecosystem services at the U.S.-Mexico borderlands Mapping socio-environmentally vulnerable populations access and exposure to ecosystem services at the U.S.-Mexico borderlands
Socio-environmental vulnerable populations are often unrepresented in land-use planning yet have great potential for loss when exposed to changes in ecosystem services. Administrative boundaries, cultural differences, and language barriers increase the disassociation between land-use management and marginalized populations living in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. This paper describes the...
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Miguel L. Villarreal, Francisco Lara-Valencia, Yongping Yuan, Wenming Nie, Sylvia Wilson, Gladys Amaya, Rachel Sleeter
Examining wildlife responses to phenology and wildfire using a landscape-scale camera trap network Examining wildlife responses to phenology and wildfire using a landscape-scale camera trap network
Between 2001 and 2009, the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project deployed 174 camera traps in the mountains of southern Arizona to record jaguar activity. In addition to jaguars, the motion-activated cameras, placed along known wildlife travel routes, recorded occurrences of ~ 20 other animal species. We examined temporal relationships of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Leila Gass, Laura Norman, Joel B. Sankeya, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Dennis McMacken, Jack L. Childs, Roy E. Petrakis
Developing spatially explicit footprints of plausible land-use scenarios in the Santa Cruz Watershed, Arizona and Sonora Developing spatially explicit footprints of plausible land-use scenarios in the Santa Cruz Watershed, Arizona and Sonora
The SLEUTH urban growth model is applied to a binational dryland watershed to envision and evaluate plausible future scenarios of land use change into the year 2050. Our objective was to create a suite of geospatial footprints portraying potential land use change that can be used to aid binational decision-makers in assessing the impacts relative to sustainability of natural resources...
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Mark Feller, Miguel L. Villarreal
Reaching toward the integration of research into resource management activities: A 20 year evaluation of Colorado Biennial Conferences Reaching toward the integration of research into resource management activities: A 20 year evaluation of Colorado Biennial Conferences
No abstract available.
Authors
Martha E. Lee, Carena J. van Riper, Charles van Riper, Gerard T. Kyle
An inventory and monitoring plan for a Sonoran Desert ecosystem; Barry M. Goldwater Range-West An inventory and monitoring plan for a Sonoran Desert ecosystem; Barry M. Goldwater Range-West
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma manages the Barry M. Goldwater Range-West, which encompasses approximately 2,800 square kilometers of Sonoran Desert habitat in southwestern Arizona. The Barry M. Goldwater Range is a major U.S. military installation designed as an air combat training location for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, but it also includes some of the most pristine desert...
Authors
Miguel L. Villarreal, Charles van Riper, Robert E. Lovich, Robert L. Palmer, Travis Nauman, Sarah E. Studd, Sam Drake, Abigail S. Rosenberg, Jim Malusa, Ronald L. Pearce
Development of a high-resolution binational vegetation map of the Santa Cruz River riparian corridor and surrounding watershed, southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico Development of a high-resolution binational vegetation map of the Santa Cruz River riparian corridor and surrounding watershed, southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico
This report summarizes the development of a binational vegetation map developed for the Santa Cruz Watershed, which straddles the southern border of Arizona and the northern border of Sonora, Mexico. The map was created as an environmental input to the Santa Cruz Watershed Ecosystem Portfolio Model (SCWEPM) that is being created by the U.S. Geological Survey for the watershed. The SCWEPM...
Authors
Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Miguel L. Villarreal, Laura M. Norman