Ecosystems

Situated in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, the UA has access to an unparalleled network of monitoring stations and research sites as well as networks of citizen scientists and government and NGO partners whose efforts help researchers understand natural processes and form strategies to overcome environmental challenges. The UA hosts a growing national phenology program and is home to world-class faculty pursuing groundbreaking studies in sky island habitats, fire ecology, assessment and restoration, invasive species, conservation biology, the carbon cycle, and the ecology of arid land and marine environments.

Expertise in Ecosystem Adaptation

Adaptation research at the University of Arizona contributes to improving knowledge about the effects of both climate change and land use change on complex ecosystem processes. UA research in conservation biology and forest, riparian, and range restoration focuses on how water flows through watersheds and forests, the rates at which plants and animals migrate across the landscape, and how new uses of public and private lands to store carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change all lead to improved ecosystem resilience. This research helps ecosystem managers from state and federal agencies develop sound adaptation strategies, while work with rangeland and ecosystem management NGOs, the National Park Service, and other entities is aimed at guiding hands-on experience to plan for adaptation in the face of uncertainty.

Ecosystems