Projects

Desert soils are characterized by unique spatial and vertical distribution of properties (e.g. texture, soluble salts, organic matter, surface cover) that are critical ecosystem processes. Distribution of these properties directly impacts surface stability and controls plant growth. Desert soil cover is complex consisting of a combination of desert pavement or gravel, inorganic and/or biologic soil crusts, and widely spaced desert shrubs. Natural growth and establishment of desert plants are largely limited by the availability of soil moisture. Ongoing studies in the Mojave and Sonoran Desert strongly indicate that overall characteristics of the soil, especially soil texture and structure, directly control the response of desert plants by controlling the flux of available soil water (McAuliffe and McDonald, 1995; Hamerlynck et al., 2000, 2002; McDonald, 2002; McDonald and Caldwell, 2003a, 2003b; Shafer et al., in press). The Soil Characterization Laboratory has the responsibility of measuring and reporting the data necessary for these on-going DRI projects.

See below for a list of projects and project links.

Projects List
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Analysis of Desert Shrubs Along First-order Channels on Desert Piedmonts: Possible Indicators of Ecosystem Health and Historic Variation

Basic Research Linkages Among the Soil-Hydrologic-Biologic Systems Common to the Desert Piedmonts, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds

Catalogue of Analogs: Identifying Terrain Similarities between the World's Deserts and the US Army's Desert/Hot Weather test site, Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), southwestern Arizona

Catalina Island Automated Climate Network

Combining Cosmogenic Nuclides and Soil Stratigraphy for Alluvial Fan Chronology and Regional Correlation: Eastern Mojave, California

Collaborative Research: Comparison of regional flood frequency responses to climatic variability in the Western U.S. during the late Holocene using modern, historical, and pre-historical information

Collaborative Research: Processes driving rock uplift and flexural deformation following convergent tectonics: The fluvial terrace record of the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, Ebro Basin, Spain

Coupled Environmental Processes and Long Term Performance of Evapotranspiration Waste Covers in the Southwest United States

Geochemical and Physical Characteristics of Iraqi Dust and Soil Samples

Geochemical and Physical Characteristics of Vehicle Endurance and Dust Test Courses at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground

Integrated Forecasting of Desert Terrain Conditions for Military Operations

Integrated Site Design for the Restoration of Military Lands

Integrated site design to combine characterization of soil and hydrologic attributes and increase the effectiveness of soil and plant restoration efforts, Ft. Irwin, CA

Landscape Position and Hillslope Hydrology Associated with the Middle Ranch Hayfield Restoration

Master Environmental Reference Site (MERS): Deformation and recovery of desert pavements, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground

Measuring Heterogeneities of Soil Hydraulic Properties from Canopy to Interspace

Middle Ranch Hayfield restoration: Hydrologic assessment of landscape response to potential restoration activities, Catalina Island, CA

Processes driving rock uplift and flexural deformation following convergent tectonics recorded by fluvial terraces, Ebro Basin, Spain

Remote Sensing for Mapping Near-Surface Playa Moisture

Seedbed Microclimate: Modeling and Monitoring Soil Moisture in Support of the Restoration of Military Lands

Soil and climate analog studies supporting site design of long-term covers, Monticello, UT

Soil and Geomorphological Evaluation of the Age of Islands in the Snake River Sector

Soil-Geomorphic Analysis of Desert Lands

Soil Sampling and Evaluation in Support of Estimating Carrying Capacity and Landscape Degradation at the NTC - Fort Irwin, CA

Soil Stratigraphy and Pedologic Age estimates for Seismic Hazard Trench Investigations

Uranium Oxide Soil Stabilization Study, Yuma Proving Ground, AZ