Terrestrial Vegetation and Soils Monitoring at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument: 2009 Status Report (Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SODN/NRTR?2010/375)

This report summarizes results of the Sonoran Desert Network’s first season of terrestrial vegetation and soils monitoring in upland areas of Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (NM), in southwestern New Mexico. Ten permanent field-monitoring sites were established and sampled in 2009. Our objectives were to determine the status of and detect trends, over five-year intervals, in vegetation cover, vegetation frequency, soil cover, and surface soil stability.