Homer L. Shantz was a leading American botanist and former president of the University of Arizona who was also quite the world traveler. He made extensive trips throughout the American West and Africa and he spent a large amount of time documenting the Arizona-Sonoran desert area in 1931. His works are tremendously valuable, as his photographic documentation of vegetation change is an important survey method that helps researchers understand the impact that climate change and human activities have on our environment. Recently, the University of Arizona Library set aside funding to digitize 6,500 photos and negatives from this collection. They have placed these items online here, and visitors can browse the items easily by year. They will also find a few related items include travel notes from Shantz's trip to Africa and a link to a Smithsonian exhibit on Shantz's work in Africa.
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