Integration in Eco-hydrology

Julia Jones, Kevin McGuire, Georgianne Moore

Objectives:

1. To compare how the hydrology cycle is coupled with key ecological processes across a range of contrasting ecosystem types

2. To forge groups, generate ideas for continued inter-site eco-hydrology projects

Results:

1. Fifty people from 14 LTER sites, 3 foreign countries (Poland, Mexico, South Africa), and two federal agencies (USFS, USGS) attended.

2. The time is ripe for integration in eco-hydrology because many long-term hydrologic databases have been collected by Hydro-DB (presentations by Henshaw [AND] and Ryan [USFS]).

3. An LTER-based effort to integrate around eco-hydrology would complement, and not compete with, the efforts of the CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc.) (workshop by Hooper, USGS).

4. Ecologists and hydrologists are already collaborating at many LTER sites (e.g. the 12 presentations below) to understand the ecological influences on hydrologic processes, and hydrological influences on ecological processes.

5. A number of themes for integration were presented. These include

(a) ecophysiology of organisms (plants and stream organisms) as they influence, and respond to, hydrologic processes,

(b) the role of hydrologic disturbances (droughts and floods) as shapers of ecosystems,

(c) the coupling of hydrologic fluxes to fluxes of C and N,

(d) how eco-hydrologic processes respond to climate change, and

(e) how post-disturbance succession influences hydrologic processes.

Presentations:

Forest ecosystems Barbara Bond (AND) Betsy Colburn (HFR) Bruce Haines/Alan Yeakley (CWT) Alan Covich/Todd Crouse (LUQ)	Coastal ecosystems Nat Weston (GCE) Sherry Mitchell-Bruker (FCE) Jen Wu Stanhope (VCR)	Alpine/tundra ecosystems Tyler Erickson (NWT) Jay Jones (BNZ)
Desert/grassland ecosystems Cliff Dahm (SEV) Keith Gido (KNZ) Deb Peters/Nathan Hayes (JRN)	Databases Doug Ryan (USFS) Don Henshaw (AND)