User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The area I have decided to to observe is the Sonoran desert scrublands around Scottsdale in Arizona, USA. The area is quite large comprising about a quarter of the state (~74 000sqkm) although I will be observing a conservative amount of the area at around a square kilometer. The topography is flat, sandy scrubland with occasional stand-alone mountains jutting out of the ground. The vegetation is comprised of mostly succulents and small, shrub like trees. The density of this plant life is quite sparse, with large amounts of dust and sand between any two individual plants forms.
As I am visiting the area in winter, the weather and temperature are quite temperate. The day of observation saw partially cloudy skies and a max temperature of 17 degrees celcius. I spent the largest amount of time observing Papago Park at about noon to 3pm.
I am most interested in seeing whether vegetation cover improves closer to the man-made waterways that go through the park, whether the mountains themselves affect vegetation (by providing shade or alternative rocky substrate) and whether or not the mountain caves provide shelter for different kinds of vegetation or animal life relative to the open Sonoran scrublands.
