RISE Symposium to Highlight Range Research
The symposium continues a legacy of student engagement and research collaborations based on 114 years of data from the Santa Rita Experimental Range and 64 years of research on the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed.

UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Sept. 22, 2016

Mitch SRER March 2015 by K Hawkesalt.jpg

Mitch McClaran, professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, on the UA's Santa Rita Experimental Range
Mitch McClaran, professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, on the UA's Santa Rita Experimental Range (Photo: Kelsey Hawkes)


Experts will share their research in natural history, environmental science and resource management in the Southwest during a forthcoming symposium to be held at the University of Arizona.

The Research Insights in Semiarid Ecosystems, or RISE, Symposium enables the sharing of recent results of scientific research at the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed and the UA Santa Rita Experimental Range.

The symposium also aims to encourage future research activities at both sites, promoting the experimental watershed and range as important outdoor scientific laboratories. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 8 in Room 230 of the UA's Marley Hall auditorium. More information about the program, submission of posters and registration details is available online.

RISE, now in its 13th year, was born from collaborations between the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Southwest Watershed Research Center, which is part of the federal Agricultural Research Service. In 2003, each group completed separate symposia to mark a major milestone at their respective research areas. In 2004, they joined forces to assemble an annual gathering with the goal of nurturing a community of researchers, students and resource managers that would share discoveries, feature student research and develop new research collaborations. 

This year's event includes the popular two-hour poster presentations by students, which has become "the heart of the symposium," said Mitch McClaran, associate director of the Arizona Experiment Station and director of research at the Santa Rita. 

McClaran, also a professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, said cash awards will go to the undergraduate and graduate students with outstanding poster presentations.

"Before and after the poster session, the invited speakers review completed work, reveal tantalizing results of ongoing efforts and describe new research initiatives to attract collaborators," McClaran said.

Student successes include publication of results in the journal Nature that first appeared as a poster at RISE, and a student who "graduated" from poster presenter to invited speaker seven years later and is now an assistant professor in the UA School of Geography and Development.

"I've grown up through the RISE process, and it has always been a supportive place to do that growing," said Greg Barron-Gafford, assistant professor of biogeography and ecosystem science and associate director of the UA School of Geography and Development.

"It's always been a nice place to do that first cut of your presentation before you know what your story is and how big your results are — a casual and welcoming community to present within," Barron-Gafford said. "You can go to a national meeting with a few thousand people, but what I like about RISE is that it's a smaller setting focused on a place with 100 years of history. It's a great place to test the theory you read about in textbooks with experts who know the place right here."

Extra info

What

!3th Annual RISE Symposium

Where

Marley Building, University of Arizona, 1145 E 4th St, Tucson

When

October 8, 2016 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Research collaborations include CALS and SWRC scientists receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to understand how the ecosystems services in desert grasslands are affected by the removal of mesquite; and CALS and Arizona State University faculty joining forces to receive National Science Foundation funding to understand the response of desert ecosystems to both decreases and increases in rainfall. 

The Santa Rita Experimental Range includes more than 52,000 acres and is the oldest experimental range in the United States. Range research began on the SRER in 1902 and focuses on providing ecological information that can be used to sustainably manage semi-arid rangelands for multiple uses and long-term productivity.

The Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed near Tombstone has been studied for 64 years. It is managed by the Southwest Watershed Research Center in Tucson, which is a USDA Agricultural Research Service Center.

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Mitch McClaran

UA School of Natural Resources and the Environment

520-621-1673

mcclaran@email.arizona.edu