Vulnerability and Recoverability of the Mojave Desert Ecosystem

The Vulnerability and Recoverability of the Mojave Desert Ecosystem is part of
the USGS Place-Based Studies Program, to improve scientific understanding of
desert ecosystem processes and apply that understanding to land management
needs.

The strategy involves helping desert managers achieve their adaptive management
objectives with a rigorous, scientific approach. Starting with baseline data,
much of which has been assembled by the Department of Defense Legacy Program,
local studies will aim at gaining a deeper understanding of how surface
processes interact with the biota. A key is to examine natural and
human-induced variations, both locally and across the region. This knowledge
will be extrapolated to the ecosystem using remote sensing techniques. Maps of
vulnerability and recoverability for specific stresses and types of damage will
be created by testing hypotheses based on knowledge of these fundamental
processes and then developing geographic information system methods to derive
multiple maps. A monitoring strategy will be designed so that land management
agencies can detect significant changes in key indicators of ecosystem health
on a continuing basis as part of their adaptive management program.

[Summary provided by USGS.]