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17-603: The Desert Laboratory is a historic biological research facility atop Tumamoc Hill ( O'odham : Cemamagĭ Doʼag ) at 1675 West Anklam Road in Tucson, Arizona . It was founded by the Carnegie Institution in 1903 to study how plants survive and thrive in the heat and aridity of deserts, and was the first such privately funded effort in the nation. Beginning in 1906, numerous long term ecological observation areas were set up by Volney Spalding & Forrest Shreve on

34-484: A mountain where there are 100 terraces of stone wall in the form of a snail, spiraling to the top. They say it forms an armory, where in former wars those who gained the heights first were usually victors. Those who reached the first ring went around to the second, and as far as was necessary to exhaust the supply of arrows of those below. Then they came down from the mountain and fell upon their enemies and killed them. Note that Manje refers to "former" wars, indicating that

51-769: A prehistoric garden beside the hill provide further evidence of Tumamoc’s importance to these people. For long after that time, 1,300 years ago, the site continued to provide resources to the Tohono O'odham , Akimel O'odham , and the Hopi . It has also been reported to be a burial site for the Apache and the O'odham. Captain Juan Mateo Manje , a Spanish military commander, wrote the following about Tumamoc Hill after seeing it on one of his expeditions with Father Kino between 1693 and 1701: We passed in sight of, and around,

68-562: Is located across from St. Mary's Hospital on the south side of Anklam Road. It is open to pedestrians in the early mornings and evenings. The steep hill provides a strenuous workout, as well as citywide vistas. Lectures on the unique history and ecology are presented for the public at the site. Frederick V. Colville, chief botanist of the Department of Agriculture, in 1903 convinced the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund

85-732: Is the author of "Guide to the Study of Common Plants and Introduction to Botany" (1894), and of a large number of papers in the scientific journals. He was a member of the Michigan Academy of Science , and was its president in 1898. He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , a member of the Association Internationale des Botanistes , and an honorary member of

102-577: Is welcome to walk up almost to the top of Tumamoc Hill. Walkers must stay on the road. Bicycles and pets are not allowed. And the very top of the Hill is an archaeological site where there is no unsupervised entry. Vehicular traffic restricted to authorized persons. Tumamoc Hill Tumamoc was a home to the ancient Hohokam people. It is the site of the earliest known trincheras village, consisting of 160 foundations of round stone structures, as well as large stone perimeter walls. Over 460 petroglyphs and

119-669: The University of Pennsylvania , and in Plant Physiology at the University of Jena . The years from 1892 to 1894 he spent at the University of Leipzig , where he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the conclusion of his studies. The years from 1873 to 1876 were spent in public school work, first as principal of the Battle Creek High School , and later of the Flint High School . He

136-615: The 1940s, during which time the scientists there were instrumental in the development of the field of ecology in the United States. They began publishing a journal, Plant World, which later became the major journal Ecology . Due to financial difficulties from the Great Depression, as well as a disconnect between the Carnegie Institute’s mission of making use of the desert and the researchers’ admiration of it,

153-565: The 860 acres (3.5 km) scientific domain of Tumamoc Hill . Nine of these are the world's oldest permanent ecology study quadrats . The facility and staff were key contributors to what is now considered the science of ecology, including participating in the creation of the Ecological Society of America in 1915 and the Ecology journal. Led by Spalding & Shreve, they also contributed innovations in conservation. Part of it

170-764: The Carnegie Institute turned the Desert Laboratory over to the Forest Service in 1940. They initially offered it to the University of Arizona for $ 1, but were turned down. Twenty years later, on July 20, 1960, after several easements and loss of research and records, the University purchased the reserve for considerably more. The long term observations and experiments on Tumamoc Hill’s vegetation have provided insights on saguaro boom and bust population dynamics, blue palo verde’s dependence on riparian areas, disease and other threats to desert tortoises, and

187-462: The creation of a Desert Laboratory near the small mining and ranching town of Tucson. The goal was to study desert adaptations of plants in hopes of increasing agricultural output of the desert. Among the pioneering researchers, who helped to shape the then-developing field of ecology in the United States, were William Cannon, Volney M. Spalding , Daniel T. MacDougal, Burton Livingston , Godfrey Sykes, and Forrest Shreve . This research continued until

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204-456: The fighting took place in prehistoric times (before the arrival of Europeans). Being that the O'odham are probably descendants of the Hohokam, it does not seem unreasonable to conclude that the Hohokam, who lived only a few centuries before Manje's expedition, did as their later relatives apparently did and used their trincheras to fall upon their enemies and kill them. European settlers prized

221-481: The interactions of a community of small winter annuals and the insects and rodents that prey on their seeds. Volney M. Spalding Volney Morgan Spalding (January 29, 1849 – November 12, 1918) was an American botanist affiliated with the University of Michigan for twenty-eight years, and for most of this period was head of the botany department. Spalding was born in East Bloomfield, New York ,

238-407: The rock and clay found on the hill for building in the late 19th century, and early ecologists just after the turn of the 20th century selected it for the site of the Carnegie Institute's Desert Laboratory . The hill continues to be a landmark and a sanctuary for the people of Tucson today. The road up Tumamoc Hill is a popular destination for walking and running. The entrance to the road up the hill

255-665: The son of Frederick Austin and Almira (Shaw) Spalding. His father was of English descent and his mother of Scotch-Irish descent. He received a preliminary education in the public schools of Gorham, New York , and Ann Arbor, Michigan . He entered the University of Michigan in 1869 and was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1873. His further preparation for professional life included work in Cryptogamic and Physiological Botany at Harvard University , in Anatomy at Cornell, in Histology at

272-624: Was called to the University of Michigan in 1876, and filled the following positions successively: Instructor in Zoology and Botany, 1876-1879; Assistant Professor of Botany, 1879-1881; Acting Professor of Botany, 1881-1886; Professor of Botany, 1886-1904. He resigned his professorship in 1904 to reside in a more salubrious climate, and became connected with the Desert Botanical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution , at Tucson, Arizona , with his wife Effie A. Southworth . He

289-810: Was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The rest was added in 1987. Acting on the authority of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Frederick Vernon Coville Botanist of the USDA and Daniel T. McDougal of the New York Botanical Garden chose Tumamoc Hill as the location of the Desert Laboratory in February, 1903. It opened in October of that year. It is now operated by Tumamoc: People & Habitats, part of The University of Arizona's College of Science. The public

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