Forest water use and carbon cycling trait diversity impacts on watershed hydrologic and ecosystem dynamics
Abstract
Forest water and carbon cycling traits (WCT) can vary substantially, and could have significant impacts on watershed eco-hydrology. However, characterizing the spatial distribution of forest WCT across species and community types at a fine scale has been challenging. Ecohydrological models typically use broad-scale characterizations of forest WCT based on remotely sensed information (e.g., evergreen vs. deciduous) that may not adequately represent the range of WCT among forest communities. In this study, we use a modeling approach to explore the sensitivity of water and carbon balances to the representation of forest WCT diversityusing a well-studied experimental watershed in North Carolina.We found that accounting for this information improved model performance not only in terms of capturing observed flow patterns, especially watershed-scale seasonal flow dynamics, but also in terms of representing a more realistic canopy eco-hydrologic behavior at hillslope and catchment scales such as root zone soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and net canopy photosynthesis, particularly under dry conditions. Results suggest the well-known zonation of forest communities over hydrologic gradients is not just a local adaptation, but provides a connected non-local hillslope scale property regulating watershed behavior and responses to drought.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.H44C..03L
- Keywords:
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- 1804 Catchment;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1813 Eco-hydrology;
- HYDROLOGY