Search for projects with tag "riparian zone"
[ID: 145] Hydrological Connectivity: Quantifying a key to surface water chemistry in future climates
PI: Thomas Grabbs
Predicting the terrestrial inputs to surface waters requires great chemical and biological insight, but incorrect assumptions about hydrology will confound the most sophisticated biogeochemical understanding. The project will develop the potential of RZ connectivity to explain terrestrial and aquatic linkages by developing a riparian observatory to test the hypothesis that flow-related dynamics in three dimensions of RZ connectivity influence water chemistry as exemplified by aquatic C. The informed sampling of the riparian zone hydrology and hydrochemistry will be of great value to a research community that is increasingly looking to the RZ for explanations of how catchment changes are linked to water quality. The project will also improve our ability to predict how climate change will effect forested boreal waters where DOC is a key chemical constituent. Beyond the specific insights of relevance to Fennoscandian surface waters, the use of the RO to bring process-level observations and understanding to bear at the landscape scale will hopefully be useful to researchers working in other landscapes with other issues.
[ID: 144] Riparian Observatory Krycklan
PI: Thomas Grabbs
Riparian zones (RZs) typically cover only a small fraction of the area in a catchment. However, due to their close location near streams, RZs have a disproportionately large influence on surface water chemistry. Being located in valley bottoms, RZs function hydrologically as discharge areas and are often characterized by relatively humid soils. Their hydrological function makes RZs sensitive to variations in the hydrological cycle which might occur as a result of climate change. At the same time RZs are exposed to anthropogenic pressure since humid riparian soils are often seen as obstacles for effective forestry and are additionally vulnerable to damages caused, e.g., by driving heavy forestry machines. A better understanding of RZs functioning is hence crucial for developing effective management strategies to better cope with the effects from climate change and more intense forestry practices.
[ID: 51] Protecting water quality hotspots along streams
PI: Stefan Ploum
This project aims to characterize the hydrological and biogeochemical dynamics of riparian contributions to boreal streams. We use thermal and chemical tracing to capture these dynamics, in particular during high flow events.