Science

Based on 26 years of BEMP data, we see that flooding is the key ecological driver of the bosque.

BEMP data is publicly available by any interested user.  To request current raw data, data analysis, and/or effects of land management strategies at various BEMP sites, please contact BEMP Data Manager, Ara Winter, PhD. at akooser@unm.edu

To see what datasets are available, look at our GitHub data page.


Our mission is to monitor biotic and abiotic dynamics in the Middle Rio Grande bosque ecosystem while meaningfully involving the community and educating students. We collect and analyze data at established sites across the Middle Rio Grande valley, maintaining several long-term core datasets, all with the participation of K-12 students, university interns, and community scientists. BEMP data document ecological and climatic processes in the bosque, inform research about overall ecosystem health, and shed light on impacts of ecological drivers like flooding, fire, climate, and human alteration. We do this by:

  • Collecting comprehensive monthly monitoring data to best measure processes occurring in our unique bosque ecosystem.
  • Involving students and community scientists of all ages and backgrounds in our data collection through diverse partnerships with schools and organizations.
  • Ensuring quality of data; our scientific protocols are consistent with agency guidelines, and data are processed in conjunction with BEMP’s lead science partner, the University of New Mexico’s Department of Biology.
  • Using data to answer important questions like “What are the effects of particular management decisions and actions?” and, “What are best management practices for bosque restoration?”
  • Sharing BEMP findings with state, local, tribal, and federal resource managers, informing multi-million dollar bosque management decisions.
  • Making our data publicly available and accessible to the community.

Additional Science Links


Citation for BEMP Data Sets:

BEMP Data. Date updated. BEMP Database: name of dataset. From Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program. BEMP, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. Online: https://bemp.org/data-sets/ Date Retrieved.

Example for groundwater data:

BEMP Data. 2015. BEMP Database: Depth to Groundwater 1997-2015. From Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program. BEMP, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. Online: https://bemp.org/data-sets/ Accessed on August 31, 2016.

Our Datasets

"We use BEMP data in evaluating our Middle Rio Grande Restoration Projects. BEMP's vegetation and arthropod data helps give us a sense of the ecological health of a site before we begin a restoration project and during the restoration process."Ondrea Hummel, Ecologist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District.