Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Phoenix metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Population Density per square mile - 2000. Visit https://dataone.org/datasets/knb-lter-cap.20.6 for complete metadata about this dataset.

These data represent a geospatial analysis of Hispanic population as percentage of total population, population density for 2000 within the Greater Phoenix Area.

The EcoTrends project was established in 2004 by Dr. Debra Peters (Jornada Basin LTER, USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range) and Dr. Ariel Lugo (Luquillo LTER, USDA-FS Luquillo Experimental Forest) to support the collection and analysis of long-term ecological datasets. The project is a large synthesis effort focused on improving the accessibility and use of long-term data. At present, there are ~50 state and federally funded research sites that are participating and contributing to the EcoTrends project, including all 26 Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and sites funded by the USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS), USDA Forest Service, US Department of Energy, US Geological Survey (USGS) and numerous universities. Data from the EcoTrends project are available through an exploratory web portal (http://www.ecotrends.info). This web portal enables the continuation of data compilation and accessibility by users through an interactive web application. Ongoing data compilation is updated through both manual and automatic processing as part of the LTER Provenance Aware Synthesis Tracking Architecture (PASTA). The web portal is a collaboration between the Jornada LTER and the LTER Network Office. The following dataset from Central Arizona - Phoenix Urban LTER (CAP) contains human population density measurements in numberPerKilometerSquared units and were aggregated to a yearly timescale.

The EcoTrends project was established in 2004 by Dr. Debra Peters (Jornada Basin LTER, USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range) and Dr. Ariel Lugo (Luquillo LTER, USDA-FS Luquillo Experimental Forest) to support the collection and analysis of long-term ecological datasets. The project is a large synthesis effort focused on improving the accessibility and use of long-term data. At present, there are ~50 state and federally funded research sites that are participating and contributing to the EcoTrends project, including all 26 Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and sites funded by the USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS), USDA Forest Service, US Department of Energy, US Geological Survey (USGS) and numerous universities. Data from the EcoTrends project are available through an exploratory web portal (http://www.ecotrends.info). This web portal enables the continuation of data compilation and accessibility by users through an interactive web application. Ongoing data compilation is updated through both manual and automatic processing as part of the LTER Provenance Aware Synthesis Tracking Architecture (PASTA). The web portal is a collaboration between the Jornada LTER and the LTER Network Office. The following dataset from Central Arizona - Phoenix Urban LTER (CAP) contains percent urban population measurements in percent units and were aggregated to a yearly timescale.

The EcoTrends project was established in 2004 by Dr. Debra Peters (Jornada Basin LTER, USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range) and Dr. Ariel Lugo (Luquillo LTER, USDA-FS Luquillo Experimental Forest) to support the collection and analysis of long-term ecological datasets. The project is a large synthesis effort focused on improving the accessibility and use of long-term data. At present, there are ~50 state and federally funded research sites that are participating and contributing to the EcoTrends project, including all 26 Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and sites funded by the USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS), USDA Forest Service, US Department of Energy, US Geological Survey (USGS) and numerous universities. Data from the EcoTrends project are available through an exploratory web portal (http://www.ecotrends.info). This web portal enables the continuation of data compilation and accessibility by users through an interactive web application. Ongoing data compilation is updated through both manual and automatic processing as part of the LTER Provenance Aware Synthesis Tracking Architecture (PASTA). The web portal is a collaboration between the Jornada LTER and the LTER Network Office. The following dataset from Central Arizona - Phoenix Urban LTER (CAP) contains percent urban population measurements in percent units and were aggregated to a yearly timescale.

The purpose of this work is to describe determinants and spatial patterns of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in Phoenix, Arizona. Specifically, we use geographic information systems (GIS) and regression-based analyses to identify the human and biological factors that contribute to spatial and temporal variations in near-surface atmospheric CO2 levels. We use these factors to create estimated surfaces of CO2 for the urban area. We validate our surfaces using independently collected records of CO2 from several monitoring stations and transects. To investigate the temporal patterns and variations of CO2, we were able to generate CO2 surfaces for the early mornings and the afternoons, and on weekdays when traffic is heavy and spatially focused and on weekends when it is lighter and more spatially dispersed. Our findings suggest there is a distinct relationship between the structure of Phoenix CO2 levels and spatial patterns of human activities and vegetation densities. Morning CO2 levels are higher than afternoon levels and correspond closely to the density of traffic, population, and employment. The spatial structure of human activity explains the pattern of CO2 better on weekdays than on weekends. CO2 surfaces reflect declining densities of human activity with distance from the city center, the pattern of irrigated agriculture in the Phoenix area, and riparian habitats on the urban fringe. Spatial and temporal patterns of CO2 are useful in understanding urban climate and ecosystem processes.

description: Belt transects along 2 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines were surveyed as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 3 sites at Howland in the Phoenix Islands in January, 2004 from the NOAA vessel Oscar Elton Sette (OES04-01). Raw survey data included genus presence and relative abundance, colony counts and size classes, and visual estimation of percent cover. Either 0.5m or 1m on each side of the transect lines were included in the belt (for a total of 50m2 or 100m2 per site), depending on colony density.; abstract: Belt transects along 2 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines were surveyed as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 3 sites at Howland in the Phoenix Islands in January, 2004 from the NOAA vessel Oscar Elton Sette (OES04-01). Raw survey data included genus presence and relative abundance, colony counts and size classes, and visual estimation of percent cover. Either 0.5m or 1m on each side of the transect lines were included in the belt (for a total of 50m2 or 100m2 per site), depending on colony density.

description: Belt transects along 2 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines were surveyed as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 4 sites at Baker, Phoenix Islands in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs) during 24 January - 14 February 2008 in the NOAA Hi'ialakai (HI0801) Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise. Raw survey data included species presence and relative abundance, colony counts and size classes by genus, and determination of benthic cover using the line-intercept method. Depending on colony density, 1 m on each side of the transect lines was included in the belt (for a total of 25-50m2 per site).; abstract: Belt transects along 2 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines were surveyed as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 4 sites at Baker, Phoenix Islands in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs) during 24 January - 14 February 2008 in the NOAA Hi'ialakai (HI0801) Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise. Raw survey data included species presence and relative abundance, colony counts and size classes by genus, and determination of benthic cover using the line-intercept method. Depending on colony density, 1 m on each side of the transect lines was included in the belt (for a total of 25-50m2 per site).

The Sundarban of India and Bangladesh (about 6000 km²) are the only mangrove forests inhabited by a sizeable population of tigers. The adjoining area also supports one of the highest human densities and experiences severe human-tiger conflicts. We used GPS-Satellite and VHF radio-collars on 6 (3 males and 3 female) tigers to study their ranging patterns and habitat preference. The average home range (95% Fixed Kernel) for resident females was 56.4 (SE 5.69) and for males it was 110 (SE 49) km². Tigers crossed an average of 5 water channels > 30 meters per day with a mean width of 54 meters, whereas channels larger than 400 meters were rarely crossed. Tigers spent over 58% of their time within Phoenix habitat but compositional analysis showed a habitat preference of the order Avicennia-Sonneratia > Phoenix > Ceriops > Barren > Water. Average daily distance moved was 4.6 km (range 0.1–23). Activity of tigers peaked between 05:00 hours and 10:00 hours showing some overlap with human activity. Territory boundaries were demarcated by large channels which tigers intensively patrolled. Extra caution should be taken while fishing or honey collection during early morning in Avicennia-Sonneratia and Phoenix habitat types along wide channels to reduce human-tiger conflict. Considering home-range core areas as exclusive, tiger density was estimated at 4.6 (SE range 3.6 to 6.7) tigers/100 km2 giving a total population of 76 (SE range 59–110) tigers in the Indian Sundarban. Reluctance of tigers to cross wide water channels combined with increasing commercial boat traffic and sea level rise due to climate change pose a real threat of fragmenting the Sundarban tiger population.

As cities expand worldwide, understanding how species adapt to novel urban habitats will become increasingly important to conservation. The adrenocortical stress response enables vertebrates to cope with novel environmental challenges to homeostasis. We examined baseline and stress-induced corticosterone (CORT) concentrations in three songbird species within and around Phoenix, Arizona. We tested whether baseline and stress-induced CORT patterns differed among species living at varying densities in Phoenix and tested the hypothesis that, for species capable of successfully colonizing cities, individuals living in urban areas have a decreased acute stress response compared to individuals living in native desert. Baseline CORT levels were generally similar in urban and desert birds. Capture and handling stress typically produced greater total CORT responses in urban birds than in desert birds, although these responses differed as a function of sampling date. Urban birds showed less seasonal variability in stress responses than desert birds. We propose that more predictable resources in the city than in rural areas may decrease the need to vary stress responsiveness across life history stages. The results highlight the species-specific effects of urbanization on stress physiology and the difficulty to predict how urbanization impacts organisms.

Worldwide, riverine floodplains are among the most endangered landscapes. In response to anthropogenic impacts, riverine restoration projects are considerably increasing. However, there is a paucity of information on how riparian rehabilitation activities impact non-avian wildlife communities. I evaluated herpetofauna abundance, species richness, diversity (i.e., Shannon and Simpson indices), species-specific responses, and riparian microhabitat characteristics along three reaches (i.e., wildland, urban rehabilitated, and urban disturbed) of the Salt River, Arizona. The surrounding uplands of the two urbanized reaches were dominated by the built environment (i.e., Phoenix metropolitan area). I predicted that greater diversity of microhabitat and lower urbanization would promote herpetofauna abundance, richness, and diversity. In 2010, at each reach, I performed herpetofauna visual surveys five times along eight transects (n=24) spanning the riparian zone. I quantified twenty one microhabitat characteristics such as ground substrate, vegetative cover, woody debris, tree stem density, and plant species richness along each transect. Herpetofauna species richness was the greatest along the wildland reach, and the lowest along the urban disturbed reach. The wildland reach had the greatest diversity indices, and diversity indices of the two urban reaches were similar. Abundance of herpetofauna was approximately six times lower along the urban disturbed reach compared to the two other reaches, which had similar abundances. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduced microhabitat variables to five factors, and significant differences among reaches were detected. Vegetation structure complexity, vegetation species richness, as well as densities of Prosopis (mesquite), Salix (willow), Populus (cottonwood), and animal burrows had a positive correlation with at least one of the three herpetofauna community parameter quantified (i.e., herpetofauna abundance, species richness, and diversity indices), and had a positive correlation with at least one herpetofauna species. Overall, rehabilitation activities positively influenced herpetofauna abundance and species richness, whereas urbanization negatively influenced herpetofauna diversity indices. Based on herpetofauna/microhabitat correlations established, I developed recommendations regarding microhabitat features that should be created in order to promote herpetofauna when rehabilitating degraded riparian systems. Recommendations are to plant vegetation of different growth habit, provide woody debris, plant Populus, Salix, and Prosopis of various ages and sizes, and to promote small mammal abundance.

The primary objective of this LTREB is to understand how long-term climate variability and change influence the structure and function of desert streams via effects on hydrologic disturbance regimes. Climate and hydrology are intimately linked in arid landscapes; for this reason, desert streams are particularly well suited for both observing and understanding the consequences of climate variability and directional change. Researchers try to (1) determine how climate variability and change over multiple years influence stream biogeomorphic structure (i.e., prevalence and persistence of wetland and gravel-bed ecosystem states) via their influence on factors that control vegetation biomass, and (2) compare interannual variability in within-year successional patterns in ecosystem processes and community structure of primary producers and consumers of two contrasting reach types (wetland and gravel-bed stream reaches). This specific dataset was collected to evaluate the growth of plant, development of different wetland patches in terms of size and density for different wetland species, and to establish quantitative relationship between plant height and biomass.

This data package is formatted as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A, event core). For more information on Darwin Core see https://www.tdwg.org/standards/dwc/. This Level 2 data package was derived from the Level 1 data package found here: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/metadata/eml/edi/247/3, which was derived from the Level 0 data package found here: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/metadata/eml/knb-lter-cap/652/3. The abstract below was extracted from the Level 0 data package and is included for context: The Ecological Survey of Central Arizona (ESCA) is an extensive field survey and integrated inventory designed to capture key ecological indicators of the CAP LTER study area consisting of the urbanized, suburbanized, and agricultural areas of metropolitan Phoenix, and the surrounding Sonoran desert. The survey, formerly known as the survey 200 and renamed to ESCA in 2015, is conducted every five years at approximately 200 sample plots (30m x 30m) that were located randomly using a tessellation-stratified dual-density sampling design. Study plots cover habitats throughout the CAP LTER study area ranging from native Sonoran desert sites to residential yards to an airport tarmac. Measurements include an inventory of all plants (identified to the lowest possible taxonomic unit, typically species), plant biovolume, soil coring for physicochemical properties, arthropod sweep-net sampling, photo documentation, and a visual survey of site and area characteristics. The objectives of the survey are to (1) characterize patches in terms of key biotic, physical, and chemical variables, and (2) examine relationships among land use, general plant diversity, native plant diversity, plant biovolume, soil nutrient status, and social-economic indices along an indirect urban gradient. A pilot survey was conducted in 1999, and the first full ESCA was conducted in 2000. The maiden survey in 2000 featured a suite of measurements that were not assessed in later surveys, including data from a portable weather station set up during the field survey at each location, organic matter decomposition, pollen, and mycorrhizae. In 2010, the survey was expanded to include an assessment of one of the residential parcels overlapping the survey plot at sites in residential areas. Many of the same variables that are measured in the 30m x 30m survey plot are measured in the parcel, including an inventory of perennial plants, and the biovolume of trees. In addition, a detailed assessment of characteristics of the parcel is performed. Investigators interested in the additional variables assessed in the 2000 ESCA, in parcel data collected in the 2010 and subsequent surveys, or in soil data collected during the 2000 ESCA (encapsulated in a separate data set owing to a different reporting format) should search the data catalog for 'ecological survey of central arizona' or 'survey 200' to locate those and other data related to the CAP LTER's ESCA.