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NSF Award(s)
DEB-9714833
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The Central Arizona - Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) is one among a network of 24 LTER projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to monitor and assess long-term ecological change in diverse ecosystems in the United States. Researchers from Arizona State University and a wide range of local partners have established a comprehensive, forward-looking program in the Phoenix metropolitan area of central Arizona, a setting that offers unique scientific opportunities and is of broad relevance for urban planning. CAP LTER personnel represent ASU, ASU West, ASU East, and numerous community organizations, research centers, and government agencies outside ASU.
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| Contact Information |
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| Address: |
Global Institute of Sustainability
Arizona State University
PO BOX 873211
Tempe, AZ 85287-3211 USA |
| Phone: (480) 965-2975 |
| Fax: (480) 965-8087 |
| Email: caplter@asu.edu |
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| View contact info
for all sites |
| Site History |
Urbanization of the arid regions of the Southwest US is a comparatively recent phenomenon, with its meteoric expansion largely coming after World War II. In the 1995 US Census, 8 of the 10 fastest-growing cities and 6 of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas were in the arid Southwest.
Arizona has been the second fastest-growing state for the past six years, with Phoenix as its capital and the largest city in the Southwest. The Phoenix metropolitan area's spectacular growth in population — doubling twice in the past 35 years — and its rapid and continuing expansion into former agricultural and pristine settings provides a unique opportunity to monitor human-induced ecological transformations, resulting from rapid land-use transformations.
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| Research Topics |
Interactions of ecological and socio-economic systems in an urban environment; influence of land use change on ecological patterns and processes; movement of nutrients through highly manipulated, urban flowpaths; interactions of introduced and native species in urban environment; millenium- and century-scale geomorphic change in landforms and interaction with engineered landscapes.
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Research Sites |
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| Climate Info. |
| Annual |
High |
Mean |
Low |
| Temperature |
40.8 c |
22.6c |
5.4c |
| Precipitation |
386 mm/year |
210 mm/year |
106 mm/year |
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