Changes in surficial features, vegetation, meteorological conditions, and patterns of settlement in space and time will be analyzed as map layers in a digital format. Lava-capped Bidahoochi Butte on red Triassic shale of the Painted Desert northeast of Dilkon, Arizona. These historic data are compared with current vegetation conditions to develop a model of vegetation change during recent history, to reveal links of vegetation type to landscape change, land use, and bedrock geology, and to show time-related changes in the plant community. Sand dune west of Dilkon, Arizona, with Elephant Butte and Pyramid Butte in background. Sand dune activity is related to the distribution and type of plants in an area.
Plants hold sand and soil in place, but die off during periods of drought.
Plant communities are transformed by variations in climate and land use. Sources of water in the Hopi Buttes area commonly contain high concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements including arsenic. The high incidence of disease, particularly diabetes, among Native American inhabitants emphasizes the need to understand the distribution and origin of elements like arsenic contained in the water sources of Hopi Buttes. Local water composition is the result of water reacting with rock and sediment in the area. Analyses of water and associated rocks will be conducted as part of a risk assessment and to evaluate the implications of land use on water quality.