Science Moab

The Colorado River is one of the main forces shaping the landscape around Southeast Utah. Here we talk with Dr. Joel Pederson and tease apart new information about the Colorado River and the forces that carve the landscapes we see around us. We explore the unanswered questions about erosion in Moab, Utah and the central Colorado Plateau.

Plants have many and incredible chemical compounds that they use to survive in our desert. These chemical compounds found in plants can have interactions that structure whole ecosystems. Here we explore the many and incredible ways that chemical compounds work to defend plants and what chemical ecology can teach us about the deserts around us with Dr. Adrienne Godschalx.

This show explores ecological change on the Colorado Plateau over time with Dr. Laura Huenneke. She explains the kinds of changes that have occurred and dissects the types of management actions available to address current and future landscape changes.

The way that trees are arranged in a forest can be more important than it seems. This interview with Dr. Andrew Sanchez-Meador explores the composition of forests in the Southwest and why changes to forest structure can influence how the forest works.

Moab Utah is home to an incredible amount of dinosaur tracks. Here we learn why there are some many tracks around Moab, how tracks are studied, and what we can learn about prehistoric ecology through these fossilized footprints.

Pinyon-juniper forests and woodlands are found across the Colorado Plateau. These ecosystems are expanding into new areas where they have not been in human memory, at the same time increased temperatures and reduced precipitation due to climate change are resulting in huge mortality events of pinyon and some juniper trees. Here, Dr. Nichole Barger helps break down this dichotomy

Out in desert ecosystems, plants are interacting with one another in unseen ways. Here, Dr. Alex Filazzola explains the many and surprising ways that plants living side by side can affect one another. These effects can play a big role in how ecosystems are ultimately structured, with lessons for how we manage and restore our landscapes

Biological soil crusts are an enigmatic sight on the Colorado Plateau. In this show, we explore what biocrusts are doing out in the desert. We speak with Colin Tucker and Natalie Day to learn about the research and efforts going on to understand and restore these fragile soil communities.

The tamarisk beetle has reshaped riparian areas along the Colorado River. Here, we talk with Tim Graham about his work monitoring these biocontrols. We learn about the history of testing and releasing the tamarisk beetle, how the beetle has done with controlling tamarisk along the rivers, and why the dead tamarisk we now see serve important roles in riparian areas.

A show about seeds waiting in the desert soil with Dr. Akasha Faist. We find out kind of seeds are there, what they need to germinate, and how scientists study the surprisingly mysterious world of soil seed banks.