Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

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  Scenic beauty and human perceptual dimensions of the Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, Sonora, Mexico: Visitors, community and managers

  Murrieta Saldivar, Joaquin (The University of Arizona., 2000)

  Two research approaches were combined to study the perceptions, understandings and expectations of visitors, managers and local communities sharing the desert landscape within the recently created Pinacate Biosphere Reserve, Sonora Mexico. The psychophysical approach was applied to measure visitor's perceptions of scenic beauty and quality of outdoor experience in the Reserve. Students at the University of Arizona and tourists at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument rated views from the road and major attractions presented as color slides arranged in a "virtual trip." Results indicated high internal reliability and consensus in ratings between groups. The highest ratings of scenic beauty were associated with lush vegetation, columnar cacti, rugged geological formations and volcanic features. Travel direction and order of "visitation" for the four major attraction sites were important variables affecting scenic beauty ratings (for road views) and enjoyment of the trip (for attractions), respectively. Questionnaires, structured and open interviews, and review of public meeting documents were used to assess and contrast the three different population's understandings and expectations regarding the shared desert landscape. The major themes that emerged focused on the trade-offs between environmental conservation goals and development needs of the communities living, or having vested interests in the Pinacate Reserve. Local community (Ejidos) members favored greater emphasis on utilization of natural resources for economic development. Biosphere managers held strongly to their environmental protection mandates, but struggled to find a balance between conservation goals and community needs. Eco-tourism was viewed by both populations as the most attractive option for achieving such a balance. Visitors agreed that tourism activities should contribute to the welfare of local residents, but in a direct trade-off they much more strongly favored management policies that protect the natural desert environment.
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  Monitoring Vegetation Change in the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, Sonora, Mexico (1994-2005)

  Fisher de Leon, Anna Denisse (The University of Arizona., 2007)

  At a time of increasing climatological and anthropogenic impacts, managers of Natural Protected Areas in Mexico require monitoring efforts to assess the ecological integrity of their regions and adapt management activities accordingly. However, for many of these areas, like the Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve (PBR), the location and extent of land cover impacts are generally unknown. An analysis of the natural vegetation of this area, with the use of several remote sensing techniques, concluded that it continues to be relatively stable at a landscape level. Any perceivable changes appear to be the result of natural vegetative response to climatological factors affecting this protected area. However, these same results show that the plant communities located on the PBR are more sensitive to change, making them especially vulnerable to continuous drought and other impacts due to human activities such as groundwater depletion and mass tourism from nearby communities.
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  Genesis and geochronology of alkaline volcanism in the Pinacate Volcanic Field Northwestern Sonora, Mexico

  Lynch, Daniel James, 1940- (The University of Arizona., 1981)