Sonoran Desert Research Paper

The Sonoran desert of southern Arizona is under severe threat due to a non-native species: 1 buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris). Buffelgrass, or African foxtail grass, is native to regions of Africa, southern Asia, Iran, and the extreme south of Europe. 2 It is a perennial grass that grows to about 50 cm tall with linear leaves. Buffelgrass was first introduced to Arizona, Texas, and Sonora, Mexico in the 1930’s as a means to feed cattle and prevent soil erosion. Unfortunately, many ranchers in Sonora, Mexico are still using this invasive grass as a means to feed their cattle and going as far as planting and irrigating the buffelgrass. If buffelgrass is allowed to flourish in the American southwest, we can witness the end of the beautiful ecosystem
Places such as Tucson, Arizona depend on a large portion of its economy that is derived from ecotourism. Ecotourism alone provides 40,000 jobs locally in the greater Tucson area (Ahluwaipi 2016). People from all over the world travel to Tucson to experience and witness the wonders of the Sonoran desert. With limited rainfall and winter temperatures in the 60-70’s, many travelers decide to take residence in Tucson during the winter months; Tucsonans call these seasonal visitors ‘snow birds’. Most properties purchased from seasonal residents are purchased because of the environmental backdrop of the beautiful Sonoran desert. Many realtors have reported that home sales that offer these views are in rapid decline due to the overwhelming presence of buffelgrass (Hodges
Ward examined the ability of buffelgrass to emerge by giving a range of simulated precipitation delivered on 2, 3, and 4 consecutive days with the use of a line-source irrigation system inside a glasshouse. The soil used in the experiment was comparable to other soils containing perennial species in the Sonoran desert. 1 Findings showed that the minimum amount of water required for buffelgrass emergence was observed to be 6.3 mm (3.14 mm on 2 consecutive days). Ward concluded that the invasion of buffelgrass in southern Arizona is its ability to emerge following relatively low precipitation levels (Ward