HR: 15:35h
AN: A34B-01 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Research by the SAHRA Center to Investigate the Effect of Vegetation Change on Water Resources in the Southwestern US
AU: * Shuttleworth, W J
EM: shuttle@hwr.arizona.edu
AF: Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 United States
AB: Vegetation change is a common feature of the Southwestern landscape. Over the last several decades this has occurred in the form of shrub invasion of grasslands, expansion of pinyon-juniper, thickening of ponderosa pine forests, and anthropogenic land-use changes. More recently drought related fires and bark beetle infestations are resulting in large-scale vegetation change. Also in the semiarid Southwest, most human settlements, irrigated agriculture, and regional biodiversity are located in riparian corridors. These riparian systems integrate the hydrologic and biogeochemical processes that occur within a basin. Consequently, water resource management decisions may impact river systems not only through changes in streamflow, but also through changes in water quality, the socioeconomic value of the river system, and the structure and diversity of the riparian ecosystem. Recognizing the need for research to address these critically important issues, the NSF Science and Technology Center for Sustainability of semi-Arid hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) is focusing research which addresses the questions "What are the impacts of vegetation change on the basin-scale water balance?" and "What are the costs and benefits of riparian restoration and preservation?" This talk will overview SAHRA's past and current research into these questions and preview SAHRA's new research initiatives in this area.
UR: http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/
DE: 1615 Biogeochemical processes (4805)
DE: 1809 Desertification
DE: 1818 Evapotranspiration
DE: 1878 Water/energy interactions
DE: 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly