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Dryland Resources of North America with Special Reference to Regions West of the 100th Parallel

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Climate Variability Impacts on Land Use and Livelihoods in Drylands

Abstract

This chapter provides a synoptic overview of the aridlands on the North American continent. It traces the early history of this vast region from pre-Columbian times to the present and reviews forecasts of the likely impact of global change (including climate change) on the lands and its peoples. The current state of aridlands in North America reflects a legacy of historical land and water use. The allocation of water and the efforts to reconcile competing claims for water are highlighted. The interplay of public and private ownership of land and water rights receives attention here. Land use has intensified in recent decades and urban expansion and related infrastructure development as well as industry and mining have created new demands for a dwindling water supply. Land use assignment and operational practices will arguably have a larger impact on aridland ecosystems in the next two to five decades than climate change. In the near-term, climate fluctuation and change will be important primarily as it influences the impact of land and water use and how ecosystems are impacted by, and respond to, land use change.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    2.5 acres equals 1 ha.

  2. 2.

    Relief deserts form in areas beyond high mountains or on high plateaus that clouds cannot reach. In rising, the clouds cool off and rain falls on the outer slope or the mountain range or plateau.

  3. 3.

    Winds blowing across the oceans toward the land mass crosses the cold current which cools the air so that is unable to hold large amounts of water.

  4. 4.

    Also called hydraulic fracturing.

  5. 5.

    That area from the Southern Rocky Mountains on the east to the crest of the Sierra Nevada in the west and from southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and southwestern Wyoming southward through Utah and Nevada is often referred to as the Intermountain West.

  6. 6.

    Endorheic is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Victor R. Squires (Adjunct professor)

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  1. Victor R. Squires
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Correspondence to Victor R. Squires .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

    Mahesh K. Gaur

  2. Institute of Desertification Studies, Beijing, China

    Victor R. Squires

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Squires, V.R. (2018). Dryland Resources of North America with Special Reference to Regions West of the 100th Parallel. In: Gaur, M., Squires, V. (eds) Climate Variability Impacts on Land Use and Livelihoods in Drylands. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56681-8_8

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