Nested Regional Ecohydrological and Micrometeorological Networks: Infrastructure for Riparian Research

Wide area flux and groundwater monitoring networks provide the infrastructure for multiscale studies. Through the auspices of the New Mexico NSF-EPSCoR office, five such networks are currently being integrated as nodes into a Rio Grande basin-wide network. These wide area flux networks are focused upon riparian, agricultural, upland desert shrub- and grassland, and high-elevation conifer ecosystems. This presentation will highlight the topics under investigation within the riparian node, which is centered around the Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico. These topics include partitioning ET into transpiration and evaporation, using measurements of biogenic carbon fluxes to provide insight into stomatally and non-stomatally regulated fluxes, the role of flooding and drought on community composition, groundwater and ET, as well as the role of mesoscale events (e.g., monsoons, km-scale topographic forcing, etc.) on surface layer dynamics. Key groundwater, vegetation, meteorological, and climatological factors have been identified through long-term maintenance of this network. One of the key components regulating ET along the Middle Rio Grande is leaf area index, which in turn is dictated by groundwater chemistry, groundwater depth and fluctuation, topography, and temperature. Smaller scale variability is associated with surface layer scales, threshold events, and topographic limitations. We will conclude by applying these results estimate water salvage or loss caused by modern riparian restoration techniques.