Inventory & Monitoring at Joshua Tree National Park

Night sky at Joshua Tree National Park

NPS Photo

Joshua Tree National Park was first established as a national monument in 1936 and then as a national park in 1994. Joshua Tree is the southern-most park in the Mojave Desert Network, lying at the transition between Mojave and Sonoran deserts.

Providing major habitat for its namesake, the park supports extensive stands of Joshua trees, prickly pear cacti, and other unique and diverse plants and animals. Fault lines running through igneous and metamorphic rocks force water to the surface at numerous locations across the park. Five of North America's 158 desert fan palm oases are found at these locations. Many threatened or vulnerable species call the land of Joshua Tree National Park home, including the desert tortoise, desert bighorn sheep, Mojave fringe-toed lizard, and sensitive bat species.

The Mojave Desert Network provides natural resource inventory and monitoring information to help parks make effective, science-based management decisions. Inventories have been completed for mammals, fish, birds, vascular plants, and reptiles & amphibians (see species lists further down the page). Maps and Reports detailing Joshua Tree's vegetation, soils, and geology resources are also complete.

Monitoring at Joshua Tree National Park

Ongoing Monitoring Efforts
Bats monitoring bat populations using acoustic and capture surveys
Desert Springs monitoring water quality and availability at 48 smaller seeps and springs
Integrated Uplands vegetation and soils monitoring of the Joshua Tree woodland community
Invasive & Exotic Plants monitoring plan for detecting invasive plants throughout the Park
Selected Large Springs monitoring water quality and availability at Fortynine Palms Oasis and Smith Water Canyon Spring
Spring Vegetation monitoring desert spring plant communities at select springs
Weather and Climate monitoring temperature, precipitation, wind and other variables at park service and partner weather stations

Desert Springs Monitoring Brief for Joshua Tree National Park

This Desert Springs Monitoring Brief compares the wet/dry status of 45 desert springs in Joshua Tree National Park that were visited during the initial inventory in 2006 and revisited during the 2016-2017 monitoring field season. It was 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.
Use the slider below for a visual comparison of 2006 & 2017 at one of the springs we monitor at Joshua Tree National Park.

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

Inventories & Assessments present baseline data collected during the first phase of the development of the Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network in order to have comparison with the long-term monitoring data currently being collected. Monitoring protocols describe why and how we collect, manage, analyze, and report monitoring data about the network's Vital Signs. The protocols consist of a narrative and associated set of standard operating procedures (SOPs). Monitoring Reports summarize data and findings from our Vital Signs monitoring activities.

Monitoring Briefs
Short summaries of fieldwork and findings

Source: Data Store Collection 4376 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Inventories and Assessments

Source: Data Store Collection 4378 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Protocols & Plans

Source: Data Store Collection 4380 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Reports

Source: Data Store Collection 4379 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Species Lists

The species lists presented here are works in progress. Information may change as we continue to update lists.

×

Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

---

Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

---

Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

---

Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

×

List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Joshua Tree National Park

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.