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Continuity and Distinction in Land Cover Across a Rural Stretch of the U.S.-Mexico Border

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Abstract

Differences in land use and land cover often coincide with social and political borders. Using vegetation indices and a visual inspection of Landsat imagery, we consider a rural section of the central Arizona-Sonora border dominated by government-owned land on the U.S. side and seek to understand where and why cross-border land cover continuity exists in some places while distinction exists in others. Land cover distinctions are attributed largely to differential population and economic pressures in the two countries, but are also exacerbated by social and political distinctions. By contrast, historical relations, common use of the land, and relative remoteness provide cross-border homogeneity in land use and land cover in rural areas, especially on the Tohono O’odham reservation.

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Notes

  1. The coordinates place this image north of the border, but the fields and washes make it clear that this site is the border south of Papago Farms. We return to this image later in our discussion.

  2. El Pinacate park in its outer edges is conceived more as a buffer overlay than an exclusive designation and intersects with some traditionally ejido and private lands. As a result grazing and human activities are not entirely prohibited, although agriculture along the border stretch of the Sonoyta River does end here and more observable grazing and human activity fades quickly after the Sonoyta River abuts the border and then turns south. In a more limited sense, the buffer concept is also applied through designation of wilderness area in most of OPCNM, including north of a strip along the border that allows for vehicular access within the park.

  3. In this article and in keeping with local usage, we will use the word “O’odham” interchangeably with “Tohono O’odham.”

  4. For more discussion of traditional land use, seasonal migration, and ecological interactions of the Tohono O’odham see Mark 1960; Jones 1969; Fontana 1981; Seivertson 1999; Buseck 2003; Fazzino 2008.

  5. Plot 9 in the Sasabe set landed on the small town settlement itself on both sides of the border and was not eliminated. Some plots in close proximity to washes or minimally impacted by other disruptions were retained as well.

  6. Although cross-border wood harvesting in OPCNM may have some residual effect on our plots, we speculate that greater differences in land cover around the two Sasabes are largely due to higher elevation and rainfall that allow for more vibrant grasslands on the U.S. side.

  7. Land cover distinctions between privately-leased state land and BAWNR are even more notable, but the small number of state plots does not allow a statistical comparison using vegetation indices.

  8. The Tohono O’odham reservation is relatively less affluent compared to the U.S. as a whole and certainly there are more demands on the land compared to OPCNM and BANWR where land use has been largely removed from the need to be economically productive for the local population.

  9. On the topic of Tohono O’odham cross-border connections see Fontana (1981); Castillo and Cowan (2001); Spears (2005); (Madsen, in review).

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Acknowledgments

This article originated from Soto-Berelov’s 2006 graduate field exam at Arizona State University. Soto-Berelov would like to thank the exam evaluation committee: Daniel D. Arreola, Kevin McHugh, and Anthony Brazel as well as Patricia L. Fall, John Baumgartner, and Soe Myint, all of whom provided constructive feedback. In addition, Madsen would like to thank Ray Turner and recognize members and officials of the Tohono O’odham Nation for their support during his research on the impact the border has had on the tribe. Madsen also received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities for participation in a 2009 field institute (“Nature and History at the Nation’s Edge”) hosted by the University of Arizona. Many residents of the region provided insight to local dynamics and their input is appreciated as well.

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  1. School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Mariela Soto-Berelov

  2. Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Newark, OH, 43055, USA

    Kenneth D. Madsen

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  1. Mariela Soto-Berelov
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  2. Kenneth D. Madsen
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Correspondence to Kenneth D. Madsen.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Table 5 UTM coordinates of plot centers, WGS 1984 Datum, Zone 12N
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Soto-Berelov, M., Madsen, K.D. Continuity and Distinction in Land Cover Across a Rural Stretch of the U.S.-Mexico Border. Hum Ecol 39, 509–526 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-011-9409-8

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