Dissertation Research: Land Cover Effects on Water Fluxes and Atmospheric Deposition across a Mexican Tropical Montane Landscape

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This study examines the effects of land cover change on water fluxes and atmospheric deposition across a fragmented tropical cloud forest landscape in Central Veracruz, Mexico. Quantifying fog deposition is a central objective of the research; these inputs may strongly influence ecosystem hydrology, nutrient and pollutant dynamics, and species distribution in fog inundated regions. Since April 2005, the volume and chemistry of rain and fog precipitation have been measured in cloud forest fragments, shade coffee plantations, and cleared areas, the three most prevalent land cover types in tropical montane regions of Mexico. The data will be used to: (i) estimate the relative importance of fog and rain as water sources and vectors of nutrients and pollutants to the three land cover types; (ii) examine the effects of forest conversion on the volume, spatial distribution, and chemistry of water inputs; and (iii) quantify the exposure of cloud forest fragments and watersheds to upwind pollution sources.