Background/Question/Methods In arid and semi-arid landscapes, springs are important sources of surface water and soil moisture for wildlife and vegetation. Springs have been suggested as possible climate-change refugia, however, springs that depend on recent precipitation or snowmelt for recharge may be vulnerable to warming and drought intensification. Effective conservation of spring-dependent ecosystems—and the biodiversity they support—requires empirical approaches to assess resilience of springs to water cycle changes. Unfortunately, hydrologic data is unavailable for most springs, and those hydrologic records that do exist typically have inadequate temporal extent and resolution to adequately characterize resilience. To help [...]
