GEO 561LEC - Ecohydrology

This course deals with hydrologic and ecological mechanisms underlying climate-soil-vegetation dynamics and land-water dynamics. The evolution of terrestrial ecosystems depends on the need of vegetation for inputs of light, water, and nutrients. These inputs are variable in time and space, and how they are assimilated depends on plant characteristics and ecosystem structure. Thus, vegetation plays an active role as both cause and effect of the space-time dynamics of soil water and climate. Specific topics will include preferred states in spatial distribution of soil moisture, hydraulic limits to plant water use, ecological optimality, vegetation-hydrology linkages at catchment scales, carbon and nutrient cycling, and vegetation competition.

Credits: 3