Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1: Regional threats to the Mojave desert / Lynn F. Fenstermaker, Eric V. McDonald, and Robert H. Webb -- Historic climate variability in the Mojave Desert / Kelly T. Redmond -- Effects of global change on Mojave Desert ecosystems / Stanley d. Smith [and others] -- Human population in the Mojave Desert: resources and sustainability / Debra L. Hughson -- Impacts of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on vegetation and soils at Joshua Tree National Park / Edith B. Allen [and others] -- Spatial and temporal distribution of nonnative plants in upland areas of the Mojave Desert / Matthew L. Brooks -- Invasive plants in Mojave Desert riparian areas / Tom L. Dudley -- Part 2: Road effects on the Mojave Desert / Robert H. Webb and Jill S. Heaton -- Rates of soil compaction by multiple land use practices in Southern Nevada / Simon A. Lei -- Ecological effects of vehicular routes in a desert ecosystem / Matthew L. Brooks and Bridget M. Lair -- Historical patterns of road networks in Mojave National Preserve / John Vogel and Debra L. Hughson -- Conservation implications of fragmentation in deserts / Cameron W. Barrows and Michael F. Allen. Part 3: The role of soils for plant communities / Lynn F. Fenstermaker, Eric V. McDonald, and Robert H. Webb -- Mapping Mojave Desert ecosystem properties with surficial geology / David M. Miller [and others] -- Landscape-scale relationships between surficial geology, soil texture, topography, and creosote bush size and density in the Eastern Mojave Desert of California / David R. Bedford [and others] -- Mojave Desert root system / Susanne Schwinning and Mark M. Hooten -- Root patterns of larrea tridentata in relation to soil morphology in Mojave Desert soils of different ages / Bryan A. Stevenson, Eric V. McDonald, and Todd G. Caldwell -- Part 4: Recovery, restoration, and ecosystem monitoring / David M. Miller, Debra L. Hughson, and Robert H. Webb -- Natural recovery from severe disturbance in the Mojave Desert / James Weigand and Jane Rodgers -- Alluviation and visual removal of landscape disturbances, Camp Ibis-Piute Wash, Eastern Mojave Desert / Richard Hereford -- A review of selected long-term ecological studies of the Mojave Desert ecosystem / Robert H. Webb [and others] -- The Mojave Desert: ecosystem processes and sustainability revisited / Robert H. Webb [and others]. "This title presents new research on the Mojave Desert and the contributors discuss the desert from several perspectives including regional threats such as expanding human populations, climate change, atmospheric nitrogen deposition and invasive plants, the impact of roads in a desert ecosystem, soils and plant communities, shrinking aquifers and the monitoring and sustainability of this fragile ecosystem."--NHBS Environment Bookstore.