A History of Saguaro Cactus Monitoring in Saguaro National Park, 1941–2007

Saguaro National Park

The main purpose of this report is to summarize, clarify, and attempt to relate the comprehensive and often convoluted web of saguaro research and monitoring undertaken at Saguaro National Park since its founding (see timeline, Chapter 4). This report is by no means a complete summary of every study carried out within the park, nor does it highlight much of the work performed on saguaros outside park boundaries. The focus here is on long-term studies for which data are currently available, with the objective of summarizing the methods, goals, location, history, personnel, and results of each major monitoring eff ort. This document can also be used as a literature review to facilitate future monitoring projects. Figures 1-1 and 1-2 illustrate the locations of all plots from each major long-term monitoring project. Each separate project and corresponding plot spread is then discussed in more detail, in chronological order.