{"title":"Sycamore Creek NEON - United States of America","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"0a35ab49-0896-47db-88fb-f1fe45eae3a2"},"type":"site","created":"2020-05-25T09:36:50+02:00","changed":"2025-09-18T15:59:54+02:00","attributes":{"affiliation":{"networks":[{"network":{"name":"GERI","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"c3abdc60-49f1-49db-81fe-863b7dbb21d3"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"NEON","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"fd9fbc88-0baa-4d02-b824-dc29f721782c"}},"siteCode":"SYCA","verified":true}],"projects":null},"contact":{"siteManager":[{"type":"person","name":"Abraham Karam","email":"akaram@battelleecology.org","orcid":null}],"operatingOrganisation":null,"metadataProvider":[{"type":"person","name":"Melissa Marquez","email":"marquez@battelleecology.org","orcid":null}],"fundingAgency":null,"siteUrl":[{"title":null,"value":"https:\/\/www.neonscience.org\/field-sites\/syca"}]},"general":{"abstract":"Sycamore Creek (SYCA) is an aquatic NEON field site in a shallow desert stream situated roughly 35 km (21.8 mi.) northeast of Phoenix, Arizona in the Tonto National Forest. The site is hosted and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The catchment area of the drainage basin is 505 km\u00b2 (124,788 acres). The creek\u2019s headwaters begin on the eastern slopes of the Mazatzal Mountains and head south toward a confluence with the Verde River. In the lower reaches, the banks of the creek are surrounded by old-growth saguaro cacti\/palo verde forests in a classic Sonoran Desert Scrub ecosystem. Sycamore Creek is a riverine wetland in an otherwise extremely dry environment. This unique feature creates an array of biotic activity ranging from algal mats to endemic fish species and plant species only seen in riparian or wetland habitats such as cottonwoods and cattails. This site is encompassed within NEON\u0027s Desert Southwest Domain (D14). D14 has two terrestrial field sites and one aquatic site. SYCA is not colocated with a terrestrial site.","citation":null,"relatedIdentifiers":null,"status":{"label":"Operational","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/elter_cl\/10772"},"yearEstablished":2015,"yearClosed":null,"relatedSites":null,"siteName":"Sycamore Creek NEON","shortName":"SYCA","siteType":"Platform","protectionLevel":[{"label":"Category V \u2013 Protected Landscape\/Seascape\/Area","uri":"http:\/\/dd.eionet.europa.eu\/vocabularyconcept\/cdda\/IucnCategoryValue\/V"}],"landUse":null,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2020-06\/48755054751_696a618609_z.jpg","alt":"SYCA"},{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2020-06\/48755250137_5199180e55_z.jpg","alt":"SYCA Stream Sampling after Heavy Rain"}]},"environmentalCharacteristics":{"airTemperature":{"yearlyAverage":20.7,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"\u00b0C","referencePeriod":null},"precipitation":{"yearlyAverage":409,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"mm","referencePeriod":null},"biogeographicalRegion":null,"biome":"freshwater_rivers","ecosystemType":[{"label":"Desert","uri":null},{"label":"Deserts and xeric shrublands","uri":null},{"label":"Fresh Water Rivers","uri":null},{"label":"Rivers","uri":null}],"eunisHabitat":null,"landforms":null,"geoBonBiome":["Fresh water rivers"],"geology":"Geological formations that make up the Sycamore Creek Watershed include mostly volcanic basaltic flows composed of Precambrian metamorphic and igneous rocks.","hydrology":"The hydrological patterns of Sycamore Creek are almost exclusively driven by a bimodal precipitation regime which consists of summer monsoon rains (June-September) and winter rains (January-March). As a desert stream, SYCA often has a low discharge rate (0-20 cfs) during the driest times of the year and up to 2000-3000 cfs during peak flows. Monsoonal rains in the summer months often result in intense flash floods. These storm events often drastically alter morphology of the stream by displacing gravel and compressing or contracting the channel. Annual precipitation for the SYCA watershed fluctuates between 390-510 mm (15-20 in.) and significant evapotranspiration can cause sections of the creek to dry up completely during spring and fall months.","soils":"Soils consist of unconsolidated sediments and are shallow and overlying. The substrate of the creek is composed of boulders and sand.","vegetation":"Sonoran Desert scrub flora dominates the Sycamore Creek site and includes saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea), prickly pear (Opuntia spp.), velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina), and palo verde (Parkinsonia microphylla) on the upland slopes. Along the creek\u2019s edge, riparian tree species appear including Fremont\u2019s cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Goodding\u0027s willow (Salix gooddingii), Arizona sycamore (Platanus wrightii), Arizona walnut (Juglans major), and Arizona ash (Fraxinus velutina). Prominent wetland species include Torrey\u2019s rush (Juncus torreyi), southern cattail (Typha domingensis Pers.), chairmaker\u0027s bulrush (Schoenoplectus americanus), and knotgrass (Paspalum distichum)."},"geographic":{"boundaries":null,"coordinates":"POINT (-111.5069 33.74906)","country":["United States of America"],"elevation":{"avg":645,"min":396,"max":2408,"unit":"msl"},"size":{"value":27300,"unit":"ha"},"relatedLocations":null},"focusDesignScale":{"experiments":{"design":"mainly experimentation","scale":"catchment scale"},"observations":{"design":"mainly observation","scale":"entire catchment"},"observedProperties":[{"label":"DNA sequence","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/21400"},{"label":"genetic parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20942"},{"label":"land cover","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22142"},{"label":"landscape parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20943"},{"label":"water parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20945"},{"label":"water quality","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22312"}]},"infrastructure":{"accessibleAllYear":true,"accessType":null,"allPartsAccessible":null,"maintenanceInterval":null,"permanentPowerSupply":true,"operation":{"permanent":true,"notes":null,"siteVisitInterval":null},"notes":null,"collection":null,"data":{"policy":{"url":null,"rights":null,"notes":null}}},"relatedResources":null,"projectRelated":{"lter":{"lterSiteClassification":null}}}}