The Tucson basin: Natural and human history

The current state of a human-natural system and its management challenges cannot be understood without its historical evolution. This chapter describes the landscapes, geology, climate, hydrology and environment that have hosted the evolution of local human societies since the first arrival of people in the region. A discussion follows on the history of the interactions between these communities and the environment, with an emphasis on human events that introduced new technologies practices. These shaped both the environment and the societies in ways and scales not previously seen, and caused significant feedbacks to occur within the human-natural system. These new practices can be understood as metabolic transitions, as they represent changes in the way society uses resources to produce goods and well-being. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the current management challenges.