Dr. David A. Mouat

Title: Associate Research Professor
Affiliation: Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
Location: DRI Reno
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Phone: 775.673.7402

Professional Interests

Dr. Mouat is an arid lands geoecologist and landscape dynamics specialist with over 30 years experience as a research scientist. Pioneering techniques in using terrain correlation to discriminate vegetation and habitat (the subject of his dissertation) he has applied this hypothesis to land capability and condition assessment, vegetation and habitat mapping, and land degradation assessment.  Land capability, condition, and degradation assessments were integral parts of programs that he supported such as EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and others.

He has made extensive use of remote sensing systems including Landsat TM and the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). He managed the interagency Biodiversity Research Consortium (BRC) investigations involving alternative futures analyses of military installations including the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and the several installations in the California Mojave Desert. He was Principal Investigator for "Alternative Futures for the Upper San Pedro River Watershed, Arizona and Sonora", which was subsequently published by Island Press (Steinitz, et al. 2003).  He currently directs two projects in the southwest U.S. that investigate changing patterns of land use and their potential impacts.

Dr. Mouat is actively involved in the development of desertification assessment techniques especially those which integrate environmental and social variables to understand how behavior and policy changes will affect future landscapes.  These assessments can be especially useful in examining how land use systems might change. He served as the Chair of the Group of Experts of the UNCCD from 2002 to 2007.  The Group of Experts is the global focal point for advising the UNCCD on scientific and technical matters related to the biophysical and socio-economic status of the earth’s arid land system