Water Resources Professional Project Reports
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
Spring 2024
Abstract
Albuquerque, New Mexico, alongside the larger American desert Southwest, is already living the reality of climate change – temperatures have risen faster than the global average and, left unchecked, will continue to rise at an ever-increasing pace (NOAA 2022, Garfin et al. 2014). Alongside this disproportionate warming, the Southwest has experienced worsening drought which further stresses an already arid system (White et al. 2023, Dunbar et al. 2022). At the intersection of these changes lie a myriad of interrelated consequences for both ecosystems and communities. The urban heat island effect is one of many such consequences and is responsible for a host of negative health impacts – particularly for vulnerable populations (Bedi et al. 2022, White et al. 2023). Built infrastructure contributes to this effect both by limiting natural shade from trees as well as reducing the footprint of permeable soils, both of which are key regulators of temperature. This has led to a Catch-22 situation, wherein rising temperatures necessitate an increase in urban cooling, but providing urban cooling requires use of a dwindling resource: water (Heller 1961). As climate change progresses, the Southwest faces escalating temperatures and shifts in precipitation patterns, which will inevitably reshape the region's landscapes. These changes demand institutional responses that carefully navigate the delicate balance between water management and heat reduction. While increased water use can offer valuable cooling benefits, it also brings forth significant tradeoffs. Striking the right balance is crucial to ensure sustainable resource management while effectively mitigating the impacts of rising temperatures on communities and ecosystems. For changes to water management to be successful and sustainable in the long term, it’s important to be fully informed of the benefits and consequences of water use on the landscape. In the Albuquerque area, three large uses of water are irrigated agriculture, greenspaces like parks and golf courses, and the riverside, riparian forest (locally known by its Spanish name, the bosque). By conventional measures, greenspace and agriculture are far from the most economically productive uses of water in Albuquerque; on average, agriculture is barely commercially profitable when measured by net income from crop sales (USDA 2022). Similarly, both greenspaces and the bosque require a great deal of water, with limited direct market benefits. These viewpoints, while factual, fail to capture the larger nonmarket benefits of water use in Bernalillo County: ecosystem services such as heat mitigation. As climate change progresses, it is crucial to understand and manage the full suite of benefits that water use provides to maximize its beneficial impacts.
Keywords
heat mitigation, greenspace, riparian forest, Albuquerque, middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, bosque
Recommended Citation
Davis, Brennan. "Heat Mitigation Impacts of Agriculture, Greenspace, and Riparian Forest in Albuquerque, New Mexico." (2024). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/wr_sp/216