Bosque

As a desert riparian forest, the middle Rio Grande bosque has a characteristic variety of flora and fauna.[3] Common trees in the bosque habitat include mesquite, cottonwood, desert willow, and desert olive.[4] Because there is often only a single canopy layer and because the tree species found in the bosque are generally deciduous, a wide variety of shrubs, grasses, and other understory vegetation is also supported. Desert hackberry, blue palo verde, graythorn (Condalia lycioides), Mexican elder (Sambucus mexicana), virgin's bower, and Indian root all flourish in the bosque. The habitat also supports a large variety of lichens. For a semi-arid region, there is extraordinary biodiversity at the interface of the bosque and surrounding desert ecosystems. Certain subsets of vegetative association are defined within the Kuchler scheme, including the Mesquite Bosque. In 2017, 150 different species of flora (trees, shrubs, forbs, and grasses) were documented in Albuquerque's Bosque (New Mexico, United States).[5]

The bosque is an important stopover for a variety of migratory birds, such as ducks, geese, egrets, herons, and Sandhill Cranes. Year-round avian residents include Red-tailed hawks, Cooper's hawks, American kestrels, hummingbirds, owls, woodpeckers, and the southwestern willow flycatcher. Over 270 species of birds can be found in Albuquerque's Bosque (New Mexico, United States).[6] Aquatic fauna of the bosque include the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. Mammalian residents include desert cottontail, white-footed mouse, North American porcupine, American beaver, long-tailed weasel, common raccoon, coyote, mountain lions, and bobcats. Cottonwood trees serve as shelter to a variety of animals.[7] However, a September 2020 report by the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) predicted that cottonwood trees in the middle Rio Grande bosque will be disproportionately impacted as climate change affects groundwater depth and as air temperatures rise. The report separately concluded that invasive plant species were not sensitive to such changes in groundwater, suggesting that the plant structure and animal habitats of the middle Rio Grande bosque will change dramatically as climate changes.[8]

There are ongoing efforts to undo damage to the bosque ecosystem caused by human development, fires, and invasive species in the 20th century. Where possible, levees and other flood control devices along the Rio Grande are being removed, to allow the river to undergo its natural cycle.[9] However, in June of 2023, the Army Corps of Engineers-Albuquerque District and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District signed a design agreement aiming for the reconstruction of multiple levees along the Rio Grande river between Albuquerque and Belen as part of the Middle Rio Grande, Bernalillo to Belen project, which aims to minimize flood damage along the river.[10]

Since 1996, the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) of the University of New Mexico has worked with local schools on habitat restoration and ecological monitoring within the bosque, as well as raising awareness of the ecological importance of this habitat through educational outreach initiatives.[11][12] BEMP receives funding from a number of sources, including the federal government.[13] As of 2016, the program maintained thirty permanent sites throughout the middle Rio Grande bosque.[12]