Climate Change and the Saguaro Cactus Natural Resource Report NPS/SAGU/NRR- 2018/1583
Swann D, Conver J, Winkler D, Harper C. 2018. Climate Change and the Saguaro Cactus Natural Resource Report NPS/SAGU/NRR- 2018/1583. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
Report of a project to help clarify the relationship between climate and saguaros. There was confirmation that a pattern of reduced establishment of saguaros since the early 1990s is occurring park-wide, and that it appears to be strongly associated with drought, which is probably driven by temperature extremes. Longer-term projects were initiated which are related to climate and the relationship between saguaros and nurse trees, precipitation and growth rates, and flowering phenology. Another facet of the study involved outreach efforts to provide more accurate information about changes in the saguaro population in Saguaro National Park to visitors and community. Finally, through Citizen Science efforts, environmental engagement and social media, many young people were reached who would not otherwise have learned about science and the saguaro, and what it may teach us about how the Sonoran Desert is changing and will continue to change in our lifetimes.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Swann, Don; Conver, Joshua; Winkler, Daniel; Harper, Caroline
- Date of Issue
- 2018-01
- Publisher
- National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
- Units
- SAGU
- Keywords
- citizen science, climate, drought, environmental engagement, establishment, growth rates, microhabitat, Organ Pipe NM, plot studies, Rincon Mountain District, Saguaro, saguaro monitoring, Saguaro National Park, social media, Tonto NM, Tucson Mountain District