We conduct long-term research to understand how Southwestern rangeland ecosystems are changing and to understand the fundamental mechanisms of ecosystem change in arid rangelands globally. We facilitate research on the Jornada Experimental Range (JER) by many other researchers.
The Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program conducts research to understand transitions between alternative ecosystem states, particularly in the vegetation and soil communities in the Chihuahuan Desert of southwestern North America.
Learn MoreOur longest running ecosystem study is the Jornada permanent chart quadrat project, initiated in 1915 to monitor vegetation change.
Learn MoreEcological restoration of arid rangelands is a primary focus of long-term research led by Jornada scientists.
Learn MoreThe Jornada hosts a site within the National Ecological Observatory Network, representing desert grassland vegetation in reference condition as a benchmark for other local, regional, and continental ecosystem studies. In addition to the diverse set of standard ecosystem measurements collected by the network, the site is used as a Dryland Critical Zone Observatory that seeks to increase our capacity to quantify and predict dryland carbon budgets across land-use and climatic gradients.
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