Desert Springs Monitoring

Budweiser Spring at Mojave National Preserve.

NPS Photo

Overview

Surface-water resources are sparsely distributed on the desert landscape but are critical for the persistence of native flora and fauna—including many endemic species—in the Mojave and Great Basin deserts. Springs are the most numerous surface-water habitats in the Mojave Desert Network parks.

Network staff monitor about 240 springs in the network parks by visiting a statistically-selected sample of springs (approximately 120) each year. During these site visits we measure water quality, water quantity, riparian vegetation, and site disturbance. Sensors are also deployed in a small number of springs to monitor the timing of wet and dry periods.

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  Worth Protecting: Desert Springs Monitoring in Joshua Tree

  Join Logan and Marisa from the Mojave Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network for a day in the field monitoring desert springs. Learn why these springs are so critical to desert ecosystems and how scientists study these special places.

  Duration:

  3 minutes, 1 second

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  How to Protect and Preserve a Desert Spring

  Learn more about desert springs in the Mojave Desert, the life they support, and how we're monitoring them.

  Duration:

  6 minutes, 8 seconds

Desert Springs Monitoring occurs at

Death Valley National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Mojave National Preserve
Parashant National Monument

Monitoring Objectives

• What are the status and trends of water availability at a subsample of springs in each of the five monitored parks?
• What are the status and trends of water quality at a subsample of springs in each of the five monitored parks?

A Look at the Wet/Dry Status of Desert Springs

Use the repeat photo slider below for a visual comparison the wet/dry status of Sparrow Spring in Joshua Tree National Park. This spring is one of the 45 desert springs in Joshua Tree National Park that were visited during the initial inventory in 2006 and then revisited during the 2016-2017 monitoring field season. We determined that 60% fewer springs had surface water in 2016-2017 compared to 2006.
While this is only a comparison of two field seasons a decade apart, and we do not have enough years of data to detect long-term trends in surface water, our continuing efforts to monitor the Mojave Desert springs will allow us to learn more about these fluctuations over time.

Comparison of water presence at Sparrow Spring, Joshua Tree, in 2006 and 2017

Left image
Sparrow Spring, Joshua Tree, January 2006. This photo was taken during the initial desert springs inventory on January 15th, 2006. Surface water was present at the spring during the visit.
Credit: NPS Photo

Right image
Sparrow Spring, Joshua Tree, February 2017. This photo was taken during the recent Joshua Tree desert springs monitoring field season on February 8th, 2017. No surface water was present during the visit.
Credit: NPS Photo

Reports, Publications, and Datasets

Monitoring protocols describe why and how we collect, manage, analyze, and report monitoring data about the network's Vital Signs. Each protocol consists of a narrative and an associated set of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Monitoring reports summarize data and findings from our Vital Signs monitoring activities, and monitoring data include final datasets, data packages, and metadata.

Monitoring Reports

Source: Data Store Collection 4273. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Data

Source: Data Store Collection 9374. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Protocol and Procedures

Source: Data Store Collection 4277 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Briefs
Here you will find project overviews and recent findings as they are available.

Source: Data Store Collection 7922. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.