Hydroecological Organization and Dynamics in Urbanizing Watersheds

水在景观中流动的机制和途径与控制陆地-水生营养物负荷的人类/生态系统过程之间的联系尚未得到明确理解。 这一研究领域已被列为地理，水文和生态系统科学的优先需求。 该项目具体评估和量化的空间组织和连接的流域水文和生态系统的形式和过程中发挥的作用，在城市化流域的氮循环和输出的动态。 这项工作将包括自然和人类改造的景观，重点是我们目前正在监测的地区，作为巴尔的摩生态系统研究的一部分，这是一个NSF资助的长期生态研究网站。 该项目包括对土壤湿度、河流流量和养分浓度模式进行实地取样。 一个集成的空间水文生态数据和模拟系统（即，该项目将开发重要的数据、理论和技术，以评估人类对景观水平的综合水文和生态系统过程的影响（例如，小流域或社区）。 地理信息系统/模拟系统代表和模拟生态系统的模式，水，碳，养分储存和循环沿着排水流径在山坡规模（山脊流）。 这些排水序列反过来影响流域输出效率的养分在城市化流域的典型细分的规模。 该项目通过提供更高的空间和时间分辨率信息，重点关注适合设计和恢复工作的小流域内的水文和生态系统过程，增强和补充了巴尔的摩生态系统研究的长期监测组成部分。 这项研究将产生一个更好的理解自然和设计的景观模式对累积流域影响的作用，评估替代流域发展和恢复方案的能力，以及快速筛选现有的营养输出潜力的发展模式的工具。

The linkages between the mechanisms and pathways of water movement through landscape, and the human/ecosystem processes controlling terrestrial-aquatic nutrient loading, have not been clearly understood. This area of research has been cited as a priority need in geographic, hydrologic, and ecosystem sciences. This project specifically assesses and quantifies the role played by the spatial organization and connectivity of watershed hydrologic and ecosystem form and process on the dynamics of nitrogen cycling and export in urbanizing watersheds. The work will include both natural and human modified landscapes, focussing on areas we are currently monitoring as part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, an NSF funded Long Term Ecological Research site. The project includes field sampling of soil moisture, stream discharge, and nutrient concentration patterns. An integrated spatial hydroecological data and simulation system (i.e., a geographic information system GIS) and a set of indices will be developed to predict and explain the sensitivity of ecosystem and catchment export of nitrogen to alterations in surface cover and hydrologic flowpaths.The project will develop important data, theory, and techniques assessing the impacts of human modification of integrated hydrologic and ecosystem processes at the landscape level (e.g., small catchments or neighborhoods). The GIS/modeling system represents and simulates the pattern of ecosystem, water, carbon, and nutrient storage and cycling along drainage flowpaths at the hillslope scale (ridge to stream). These drainage sequences in turn influence catchment export efficiency of nutrients at the scale of typical subdivisions in urbanizing watersheds. This project augments and complements the long term monitoring components of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study by providing higher spatial and temporal resolution information focussing on hydrologic and ecosystem processes within small watersheds that are amenable to design and restoration efforts. The research will generate a better understanding of the role of natural and designed landscape patterns on cumulative watershed impacts, a capability to evaluate alternative watershed development and restoration scenarios, and tools to rapidly screen existing development patterns for nutrient export potential.