A Dynamic Simulation Model of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus Agassizii) Habitat in the Central Mojave Desert

James D. Westervelt, Bruce M Hannon, Shaun Levi, Steven Harper

Research output: Book/Report/Conference proceedingTechnical report

Abstract

Historically, conscientious land use decisions that preserve complex relationships within ecosystems and among communities living on the landscape emerged only by rigorously testing various land management strategies. Until recently, the most convenient "laboratory" available was the open environment itself. Political and legislative policies have provided incentives to change this costly trial-and-error experimentation. Across the nation, Army and civilian land management offices responsible for the management of natural resources, endangered species, water quality, aesthetics, and economic productivity of the land, are turning toward ecological ~odeling for assistance in making decisions. This report describes the development of a dynamic, spatial, ecological model designed to help manage and protect the endangered desert tortoise living at Fort Irwin, an Army training center in the Mojave Desert. It is a generic prototype of the kind of tool needed to predict potential consequences and the degree of severity that highly disruptive land uses can have on the natural environment.
Original languageEnglish (US)
PublisherU.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories
Number of pages78
StatePublished - 1997

Publication series

NameUSACERL Technical Report
No.97/102

Keywords

  • Mojave Desert
  • Endangered species--California--Fort Irwin
  • Desert ecology--Simulation methods
  • Desert tortoise

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