This article ran in the Winter 2019 Sonoran Quarterly issue Paul HirtSenior Sustainability Scholer, Arizona State University If you were in Arizona this past summer, you may have experienced what some now call our “nonsoon” season—no monsoon....
Plants Can Save the World With the climate in slow but steady shift, and temperatures in Phoenix breaking records year after year, many are wondering how residents can adapt to broad scale and adverse changes in our world. While some attempt to prevent, others...
The heat island effect is extreme in the arid Southwest and are poised to increase in intensity due to population growth and climate change. With collaborators at the School of Earth Sciences and the Environment at Arizona State University, the DPEL is combining...
Giant cactus are among the most charismatic and iconic plant life forms on the planet, but many giant cactus species are threatened by the effects of climate change. At the Dryland Plant Ecophysiology Lab (DPEL) the staff studies the distinctive physiological features...
Riparian forests are among the most threatened in North America as a consequence of altered hydrological conditions, invasive species and climate change. The Dryland Plant Ecophysiology Lab seeks to identify tree ecophysiological traits that underlie adaptation to...