Woody plant encroachment is a global phenomenon whereby shrubs or trees replace grasses. The hydrological consequences of this ecological shift are of broad interest in ecohydrology, yet little is known of how plant and intercanopy patch dynamics, distributions, and connectivity influence catchment‐scale responses. To address this gap, we established research catchments in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts (near Green Valley, Arizona and near Las Cruces, New Mexico, respectively) that represent shrub encroachment in contrasting arid climates. Our main goals in the coordinated observations were to: (a) independently measure the components of the catchment water balance, (b) deploy sensors to quantify the spatial patterns of ecohydrological processes, (c) use novel methods for characterizing catchment properties, and (d) assess shrub encroachment impacts on ecohydrological processes through modelling studies. Datasets on meteorological variables; energy, radiation, and CO₂ fluxes; evapotranspiration; soil moisture and temperature; and runoff at various scales now extend to nearly 10 years of observations at each site, including both wet and dry periods. Here, we provide a brief overview of data collection efforts and offer suggestions for how the coordinated datasets can be exploited for ecohydrological inferences and modelling studies. Given the representative nature of the catchments, the available databases can be used to generalize findings to other catchments in desert landscapes.

中文翻译：

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长期研究流域，以调查Sonoran和奇瓦瓦沙漠中的灌木丛侵蚀：Santa Rita和Jornada实验范围

木本植物的侵占是一种全球性现象，用灌木或树木代替草。这种生态转变的水文后果在生态水文学中引起广泛关注，但对于植物和冠层间的斑块动态，分布和连通性如何影响集水规模响应却知之甚少。为了解决这一差距，我们在索诺兰沙漠和奇瓦瓦沙漠（分别位于亚利桑那州的绿色山谷附近和新墨西哥州的拉斯克鲁塞斯附近）建立了研究集水区，这些地区代表了干旱气候对比下的灌木丛侵蚀。我们在协调观测中的主要目标是：（a）独立测量集水区水平衡的组成部分；（b）部署传感器以量化生态水文学过程的空间格局；（c）使用新颖的方法来表征集水区的特性，（d）通过模型研究评估灌木入侵对生态水文过程的影响。气象变量数据集；能量，辐射和一氧化碳₂通量 蒸散 土壤湿度和温度；现在，在每个地点的各种规模的径流延伸到将近10年的观测，包括干湿期。在这里，我们简要概述了数据收集工作，并就如何利用协调数据集进行生态水文推论和建模研究提供了建议。考虑到流域的代表性，可用的数据库可用于将调查结果推广到沙漠景观中的其他流域。