Presentation: Three-dimensional Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model for Lake Mead

ELCOM and CAEDYM are three-dimensional finite-difference codes; they were used to simulate three-dimensional transport and the interactions of flow, physics, biology, and chemistry in the reservoir. The study indicated that the hydrodynamic flow patterns within Boulder Basin are mainly driven by the Colorado River inflow, the Hoover Dam outflow, and meteorological parameters. However, the water quality of Boulder Basin is also affected by the load of nutrients from the Las Vegas Wash, which carries the treated wastewater effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants, surface runoff, and groundwater discharges into the basin.The goal of this proposed project is to assess the potential for changes in water...

Categories: Data; Tags: 2014, AZ-04, Arizona, EARTH SCIENCE, Federal resource managers, All tags... LCC Network Science Catalog, Lake Mead, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NUTRIENTS, NV-04, Nevada, Presentation, TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE, United States, WATER QUALITY/WATER CHEMISTRY, climate change, completed, inlandWaters, modeling, nutrient cycles, presentation, product, sediment transport, tools, water quality, Fewer tags

Effects of Bio-control and Restoration on Wildlife in Southwestern Riparian Habitats (Not listed in the LCC Science Catalog due to Desert LCC co-funding and catalog administering)

Resource managers must often balance the management goals of protecting wildlife species and habitats with control of non-native and invasive plants. This project will determine if the introduction of the biocontrol agent (tamarisk leaf beetle, Diorhabda spp.) as an insect consumer and defoliator of saltcedar influences wildlife populations and communities via alterations to food resources and/or habitat. By taking advantage of an unprecedented natural experiment and two years of pre-biocontrol monitoring, the researchers will track changes in amphibian and reptile (herpetofauna), and avian communities as biocontrol enters a system dominated by a non-native plant species. The investigators predict that the introduction...

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: AZ-04, Arizona, Arizona, Decision Support, Federal resource managers, All tags... Informing Conservation Delivery, LCC, NV-04, Nevada, Nevada, Project, SRLCC, Southwest Riparian, State agencies, Tribes, Utah, Virgin River, amphibians, amphibians, birds, birds, completed, invasive species, invasive species, reptiles, reptiles, riparian, riparian, tamarisk, tamarisk, tamarisk beetle, tamarisk beetle, Fewer tags

Publication and Report: Ecosystem Water Balance in a Desert Grassland

​Abstract: Climate change predictions include warming and drying trends, which are expected to be particularly pronounced in the southwestern United States. In this region, grassland dynamics are tightly linked to available moisture, yet it has proven difficult to resolve what aspects of climate drive vegetation change. In part, this is because it is unclear how heterogeneity in soils affects plant responses to climate. Here, we combine climate and soil properties with a mechanistic soil water model to explain temporal fluctuations in perennial grass cover, quantify where and the degree to which incorporating soil water dynamics enhances our ability to understand temporal patterns, and explore the potential consequences...

Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, Academics & scientific researchers, All tags... Applications and Tools, Arizona, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-08, CO-03, California, Chihuahua, Chihuahuan Desert, Colorado Plateau, Conservation NGOs, Data.gov Desert LCC, Datasets/Database, Decision Support, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION, Federal resource managers, LCC Network Science Catalog, Mexico, Mojave Desert, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-03, NV-04, New Mexico, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Publication, Report, Sonora, Sonoran Desert, TX-16, TX-23, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, UT-02, UT-03, United States, User Manual, Utah, Vulnerability Assessment, biota, climate change, completed, desert southwest, ecohydrology, plants, product, soil water, vegetation change, water availability, Fewer tags

Desert LCC Land Cover Map Pilot Project

The Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) is a partnership formed and directed by resource management entities as well as interested public and private entities in the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Desert and montane sky island regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Desert LCC science depends on access to transboundary base datasets. Given the importance of vegetation such as grasslands and riparian vegetation in conservation science, a bi-national, landscape-scale vegetation data layer with classes relevant to Desert LCC research is crucial. One objective of this project is to investigate appropriate methodologies and landscape scales to create a Desert LCC binational land cover...

Categories: Data, Project; Tags: 2014, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Academics & scientific researchers, Aquascalientes, Arizona, Baja California, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-08, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, DATA ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION, DATA ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION, Data Acquisition and Development, Desert Ecoregions, Desert LCC (all), Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Durango, EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES, EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES, Federal resource managers, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, GIS, Guanajuato, Interested public, Jalisco, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Map, Methodology/Protocol, Mexico, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nayarit, Nevada, New Mexico, Nuevo León, Project, Querétaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, TX-16, TX-23, Tamaulipas, Texas, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, US-Mexico Border, UT-02, United States, Utah, Zacatecas, biota, completed, grasslands, land use land cover, remote sensing, shrublands, Fewer tags

Grasslands Conservation Geospatial Data Compilation and Synthesis

Grasslands are among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet (Hoekstra et al 2004). Recently, the bird conservation and grasslands communities have united around a forward looking approach to conservation planning. To accomplish this the following information is needed:1) The location, quantity, and quality of desert grasslands,2) the regional risks associated with loss or degradation of grasslands,3) the vulnerability of those grasslands and the species that depend on them to environmental and climate stressors,4) where and what types of programs or partnerships exist on the landscape to address system stressors and implement further conservation programs, and5) what capacity for conservation do these entities...

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2014, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Academics & scientific researchers, Aquascalientes, Arizona, Baja California, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Chihuahua, Chihuahuan Desert, Coahuila, Conservation Planning, Data Acquisition and Development, Data Management and Integration, Desert LCC, Desert LCC (all), Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Durango, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS > GRASSLANDS, Federal resource managers, Guanajuato, Jalisco, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Map, Mexico, Mojave Desert, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nayarit, Nevada, New Mexico, Nuevo León, Presentation, Project, Querétaro, Report, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Sonoran Desert, TX-16, TX-23, Tamaulipas, Texas, Training/Outreach/Workshop, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, UT-02, United States, Utah, Zacatecas, biota, climate change, completed, conservation, grasslands, vulnerability assessment, Fewer tags

Developing a Geodatabase and Geocollaborative Tools to Support Springs and Springs-Dependent Species Management in the Desert LCC

Museum of Northern Arizona, Inc. will leverage tools previously developed by the Springs Stewardship Initiative to help resource managers in the southwestern U.S. collect, analyze, report upon, monitor and archive the complex and interrelated information associated with springs and spring-dependent species in the region. The information will be compiled and made readily available online. The Museum will further develop interactive online maps and climate change risk assessment tools of springs-dependent sensitive plant and animal species.

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service, Shapefile; Tags: 2013, AL-05, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, All tags... AZ-04, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Applications and Tools, Arizona, CA-08, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Conservation NGOs, DATA ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION, Data Management and Integration, Datasets/Database, Decision Support, Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Dos Rios Pilot Area, EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES, Eastern Mojave Desert Pilot Area, Federal resource managers, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, Interested public, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nevada, New Mexico, Project, TX-16, TX-23, Texas, Training/Outreach/Workshop, UT-02, United States, Utah, Vulnerability Assessment, biota, climate change, completed, seeps, species of concern, springs, springs dependent species, vulnerability, water, Fewer tags

Fire Effects and Management in Riparian Ecosystems of the Southwestern United States and Mexico

Riparian ecosystems are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems in desert biomes. In the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Mojave deserts of the United States and Mexico, riparian ecosystems support regional biodiversity and provide many ecosystem services to human communities. Due to the dynamic nature of these ecosystems and their abundance of resources, riparian areas have been modified in various ways and to a large extent through human endeavor to manage water and accommodate various land uses, particularly in lowland floodplains and stream channels. Modifications often interfere with multiple and complex ecological processes, resulting in the loss of native riparian vegetation and increasing vulnerability...

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2013, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Aquascalientes, Arizona, Baja California, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-08, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Desert LCC (all), Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Durango, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > FIRE ECOLOGY, Federal resource managers, Guanajuato, Informing Conservation Delivery, Jalisco, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Mexico, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nayarit, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mexico, Nuevo León, Project, Querétaro, Report, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Southwest US, TX-16, TX-23, Tamaulipas, Texas, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, UT-02, United States, Utah, Zacatecas, biota, completed, fire, riparian ecosystems, Fewer tags

Publication: The effects of riparian restoration following saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) biocontrol on habitat and herpetofauna along a desert stream

Amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) have been linked to specific microhabitat characteristics, microclimates, and water resources in riparian forests. Our objective was to relate variation in herpetofauna abundance to changes in habitat caused by a beetle used for Tamarix biocontrol (Diorhabda carinulata; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and riparian restoration. During 2013 and 2014, we measured vegetation and monitored herpetofauna via trapping and visual encounter surveys (VES) at locations affected by biocontrol along the Virgin River in the Mojave Desert of the southwestern United States. Twenty-one sites were divided into four riparian stand types based on density and percent cover of dominant trees (Tamarix,...

Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Academics & scientific researchers, Arizona, Arizona, BIOSPHERE, BIOSPHERE, BIOSPHERE, CA-08, CA-36, CA-51, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, Conservation NGOs, Data.gov Desert LCC, EARTH SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, Federal resource managers, INVASIVE SPECIES, INVASIVE SPECIES, INVASIVE SPECIES, Informing Conservation Delivery, LCC Network Science Catalog, Lower Colorado River Basin, NM-02, NM-03, NV-04, Nevada, Nevada, Policy makers & regulators, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Publication, Publication, UT-02, United States, Utah, Utah, Virgin River, Vulnerability Assessment, amphibians, biocontrol, biota, birds, completed, invasive species, product, reptiles, riparian, tamarisk, tamarisk beetle, Fewer tags

Evaluation of Decision Support System Platforms and Tools for Integrated Water Management in the Colorado River Basin

The project will result in recommendations for a decision support platform that links coarse and fine scale tools and for improving the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) as the central analytical tool for basinwide water supply planning. The work will largely be accomplished by assembling an exceptionally qualified team in cross-disciplinary, water management decision support systems, in the CRSS, and in two finer scale water management decision supports within the basin and by responding to an advisory group oflead water management agencies.The project will immediately build on the Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study being led by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, will extend the interface between...

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, AZ-05, All tags... AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Arizona, CA-08, CA-36, CA-51, CO-02, CO-03, California, Colorado, Colorado River Basin, Colorado River Basin, Conservation Planning, Decision Support, Federal resource managers, Green River Basin, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, NM-02, NM-03, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Native Fish, Nevada, New Mexico, Project, SRLCC, State agencies, Streamflows, UT-01, UT-02, UT-03, Utah, WY-00, Wyoming, completed, decision support systems, decision support systems, decision support tools, decision support tools, ecological flows, ecological flows, water, water, water management, water management, water supply planning, water supply planning, Fewer tags

Final Report and Publication: From Genotype to River Basin: The combined impacts of climate change on bio-control on a dominant riparian invasive tree/shrub

Executive summary: Tamarisk control and removal has become a priority of riparian ecosystem management, due in part to its potential negative impacts on stream flow and groundwater recharge. Among the most controversial, and potentially most effective tamarisk control approaches is the introduction of the tamarisk leaf beetle, Diorhabda carinulata. The beetle has spread throughout virtually the entire upper Colorado River Basin, established major populations at Lake Mead in 2012, and is now poised to expand into the lower Colorado River Basin concordant with documented evolutionary change in beetle developmental response that may enable survival in southern regions. Superimposed on this direct plant/herbivore relationship...

Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Arizona, BIOSPHERE, CA-08, CA-36, CA-51, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, Conservation NGOs, Conservation Planning, Data.gov Desert LCC, Datasets/Database, EARTH SCIENCE, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, Federal resource managers, INVASIVE SPECIES, LCC Network Science Catalog, Lower Colorado River Basin, Map, Methodology/Protocol, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NM-03, NV-04, Nevada, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Publication, Report, State agencies, UT-02, United States, Utah, Virgin River watershed, Vulnerability Assessment, biota, climate change, completed, drought, genetics, invasive species, phenology, riparian, stream flow, tamarisk, tamarisk leaf beetles, water supply, woody plants, Fewer tags

Science Brief for Resource Managers: Effects of Biocontrol and Restoration on Wildlife in Southwestern Riparian Habitats

Description: Invasive saltcedar is the third most abundant tree in Southwestern riparian systems. Resource managers must often balance the goals of protecting native wildlife species and habitats with the control of non-native and invasive plants. This project examined the impact of the tamarisk leaf beetle (a biocontrol agent) on amphibian and reptile (herpetofauna) and bird populations and communities along the Virgin River in Utah, Arizona and Nevada.Building on two years of pre-biocontrol monitoring, the researchers tracked changes in herpetofauna communities as the biocontrol entered a system dominated by a non-native plant species. The tamarisk leaf beetle is known to be eaten by several wildlife species....

Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Academics & scientific researchers, Arizona, Arizona, BIOSPHERE, BIOSPHERE, BIOSPHERE, CA-08, CA-36, CA-51, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, COMMUNITY DYNAMICS, Conservation NGOs, Data.gov Desert LCC, EARTH SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, Federal resource managers, INVASIVE SPECIES, INVASIVE SPECIES, INVASIVE SPECIES, Informing Conservation Delivery, LCC Network Science Catalog, Lower Colorado River Basin, NM-02, NM-03, NV-04, Nevada, Nevada, Policy makers & regulators, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Publication, Publication, UT-02, United States, Utah, Utah, Virgin River, Vulnerability Assessment, amphibians, amphibians, biocontrol, biocontrol, biota, birds, birds, completed, invasive species, invasive species, product, reptiles, reptiles, riparian, riparian, tamarisk, tamarisk, tamarisk beetle, tamarisk beetle, Fewer tags