The Sevilleta Field Station is located in Socorro County, New Mexico, within the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The field station is about 50 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Rio Grande runs north to south on the east side of the field station and splits the Sevilleta NWR in half. The field station is located in and around ecoregions such as temperate grasslands, temperate shrublands, and desert.
Management.
The Sevilleta Field Station is owned and operated by the University of New Mexico. Dr. Donald Natvig has served as the stations director since 2003 and Dr. Scott Collins has served as the associate director since 2003. The mission statement of the Sevilleta Field Station is "to promote the understanding and preservation of the natural environment".
Ecology.
The Sevilleta Field Station receives an average of eight inches of rainfall per year and its average hottest temperature is 81 degrees Fahrenheit in July and it's average coldest temperature is 42 degrees Fahrenheit in December. The Rio Grande river serves as the major water source at the Sevilleta Field Station along with other small stock tanks. Major terrestrial ecosystems around the field station include temperate grasslands, woodlands, and shrublands, as well as deserts. The Sevilleta Field Station is in a higly diverse area that supports over 1,200 species of plants such as oaks, junipers, pines, and numerous grasses and forbs. The station also supports thousands of species of animals including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods.
Research Studies.
Aquatic Research Studies.
An aquatic research study conducted by Trotter et al. in the early to mid 1990's evaluated how a man-made wetland effectively processed sewage from the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research site. The wetland consisted of three different cells; one cell was a multi-culture of aquatic plants, one a monoculture of reeds, and the other a monoculture of bulrush. Variables such as biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliform bacteria, and nitrogen were measured to assess the effectiveness of the wetland cells. After the study was over, researchers concluded that the multi-culture cell performed best at treating sewage due to plant-microbial associations.
A study currently being conducted by Douglas Moore and John Craig is evaluating precipitation chemistry data at the Sevilleta NWR. Researchers are measuring many variables such as nitrate-nitrogen, sulfate, magnesium, and others. Samples are collected from funnels places across the refuge and are processed for inorganic nutrients to better understand precipitation chemistry of the area.
A study conducted by Amy Williams investigated how the springs at the Sevilleta NWR influence the water quality of the Rio Grande. Researchers collected samples of major ions in the springs such as sodium chloride and calcium sulfate to understand if they can lead to the salinization of the Rio Grande. At the end of the study, researchers discovered that the springs are connected to the Rio Grande and directly affect the water quality of the Rio Grande.
Terrestrial Research Studies.
A study currently being conducted by Collins et al. is evaluating how the warming global environment is influencing the growth of three plants; black grama, blue grama, and creosote. Researchers are simulating higher air temperatures and increased precipitation to understand how environmental change can affect grassland communities at the Sevilleta NWR. They hypothesize that warmer temperatures will benefit black grama growth and that higher precipitation rates will benefit blue grama growth. They also hypothesize that creosote will benefit from these factors as well.
A study conducted by Debra Bryan-Ricketts examined the soil geomorphology at the Sevilleta Field Station. The researchers main goal was to evaluate how the soil geomorphology of the area influenced the distributions of three plants; black grama, blue grama, and creosote. They collected soil samples and ultimately discovered that soil grain size can influence their distribution but their distribution was not influenced by soil salinity or soil pH. 
A study conducted by R. I. Zlotin and R. R. Parmenter evaluated mast production of pinyon and juniper woodlands within the Sevilleta NWR. Mast production is the production of fruits, nuts, or seeds from a woody plant species. The study was conducted at multiple sites that ranged from 1500-2000 meters in elevation. Present plant species included oneseed juniper, Colorado pinyon, and turbinella oak. Results of the study showed that trees at higher elevations with higher precipitation produced the most mast while drought negatively effected mast production for all tree species at all elevations.