Our Science in Action

Forests
Future Forests
Accelerating the pace and scale of forest restoration for a healthy Arizona.

Rivers & Water
Wet/Dry Mapping
Snapshot of hydrologic conditions for rivers with interrupted perennial surface flows.

Rivers & Water
Arizona Rivers & Water
Achieving sustainable water management.

Deserts & Grasslands
Las Ciénegas Adaptive Management
Collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management at Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area.

Conservation
Natural Infrastructure
Developing a natural infrastructure dataset by integrating studies on wildlife habitat and open space.

Conservation
Ecoregion Assessments
Conservation of biodiversity across western North America.

Forests
Southwest Forest Assessment Project
Restoring ecosystems throughout Arizona and New Mexico’s National Forest.

Deserts & Grasslands
Southwest Grasslands
Assessing the state of Arizona’s grasslands.
Explore Our Science
Mar 2022
Landscape-scale forest restoration decreases vulnerability to drought mortality under climate change in southwest USA ponderosa forest
Drought is projected to increase tree mortality in many western US forests due to climate change and could result in large-scale tree die-offs, altering forest composition and ecosystem services. Tree mortality has also been found to be higher in forests with greater tree density. Southwestern US fo[…]
Nov 2021
Snowtography: Snowpack & Soil Moisture Monitoring Handbook
The Nature Conservancy, in collaboration with the Western Water Assessment and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, has produced a snowtography handbook to support resource managers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to understand how the arrangement and density of trees, or the size and sev[…]
Nov 2021
Tree mortality response to drought-density interactions suggests opportunities to enhance drought resistance
A future of hotter temperatures and less precipitation under climate change could increase tree mortality under drought conditions in dry forests across the western U.S., causing large-scale tree die offs. Restoration projects that reduce densities of overgrown forests can result in lower competit[…]