Rangeland Ecology & Management

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RECORDING VARIABILITY IN PRECIPITATION DURING AN ARIZONA MONSOON
Author
Hewins, Daniel B.
Chuan, Xiaozhu
Schoderbek, Donald F.
Lyseng, Mark P.
Adams, Barry
Malouff, Enoch
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2015
Body

Rainfall in Arizona's summer monsoon season is characterized by temporally and spatially variable high intensity events. To record these events Arizona state agencies have erected a network of weather stations that monitor regional precipitation averages. Each station in this network can record specific precipitation at a single location; however, the density of the weather station network is insufficient for recording the variable rainfall experienced locally, and the cost of the weather station is prohibitive when considering expanding the network to be pertinent at the local scale. For land managers, knowing the local precipitation is critical for predicting vegetation response and planning future management. The purpose of this study was to provide more accurate local precipitation data, and to collect variability in regional precipitation data, by supplementing the existing weather stations with inexpensive low maintenance rain gauges. Ten 2” diameter PVC pipe rain gauges and four tipping bucket rain gauges were spread on three ranches in Yavapai County in association with four county weather stations. Rain gauges were checked weekly and the site specific data were presented to local land managers as weekly rain totals and cumulative rain totals for the monsoon season. Between May 16 and September 15th the average precipitation totals of the weather stations recorded 7.4” while the additional rain gauges increased the recorded average to 8.0”. Site specific data varied widely between sites, with several sites fluctuating between above and below expected average precipitation as the monsoon progressed and with a September 15th low of 6.2” and a high of 10.6”. The results demonstrate that site specific data, rather than regional averages, is needed for informed management decisions. 

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Sacramento, CA