Increases in revegetation activities have created a large demand for locally adapted native plant materials (NPM) in the southwestern United States. Currently, there is a minimal supply of local genotypes to meet this demand. We investigated the potential for the initiation of a native plant market in the southern Colorado Plateau. Through a literature search, interviews, and site visits, we identified existing native plant markets outside of the region as useful models to help initiate a regional market. We used webbased surveys to identify and analyze current and future NPM needs and concerns. Survey results indicate that management policy strongly drives decisions regarding the use and purchase of NPM. From a demand perspective, lack of availability and cost of NPM has kept purchasing minimal, despite policy changes favoring the use of natives. For suppliers, further development of NPM is limited by inconsistent and unreliable demand and lack of production knowledge. The knowledge and tools necessary to initiate an NPM market are available, but inadequate funding sources and insufficient information sharing hinder its development. Communication among producers, land managers, buyers, and researchers, as well as partnerships with local growers, appear to be vital to initiating a functional market.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that desert water developments attract birds; however, few studies have focused on the role of surface water in habitat selection by migratory birds. Therefore, we studied bird use of wildlife water developments in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona, USA, using 2 observational approaches (bird surveys in washes with and without water developments and direct observations at water developments) and 1 experimental approach (direct observations at water sources with and without vegetation cover). In spring 2004, we conducted weekly bird surveys at 3 pairs (with and without water developments) of washes. In spring 2005, we designed an experiment to test whether migratory birds more frequently used water developments with than without vegetation cover. During spring, in both 2004 and 2005, we documented use of water by directly observing birds at 13 existing water developments. We found little evidence to support that water developments were important water sources for migratory birds. Migratory bird communities in desert washes near wildlife water developments did not differ in species richness, relative abundance, or density when compared with washes without water developments. This observation suggests that the wildlife water developments that we studied were not an attractant to migratory birds at the landscape scale. At a finer scale, migratory birds rarely (0.1% of all observations) used water developments and experimental water sources. However, resident bird species frequently were recorded (>69,000 observations) drinking and bathing at wildlife water developments. Based on our observations, we conclude that water developments are an important resource for local bird populations in the Sonoran Desert, USA, particularly during periods of drought.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.