Hydrologic transition zones and their influence on biogeochemical cycling in forest landscapes under a changing global climate

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Forested landscapes provide ecological services that result in clean air and water. Forest sustainability is essential for the survival of local human communities as well as the global biosphere. Unfortunately, these landscapes are at risk due to an increasing demand for natural resources and altered land-uses, both at a time when climate change is creating greater uncertainties in their future. In forests, the fundamental unit for science and management of water resources is the watershed. In order to maintain the integrity of forested ecosystems it is essential that the focus of investigation for the physical, biological, and chemical sciences is directed at the watershed level. A comprehensive understanding of these processes is required in order to predict the responses of watersheds to a changing climate (both gradual changes in climate and extreme events such as floods and droughts), coupled with natural and anthropogenic disturbances. It is critical to achieve this understanding since watershed responses may be non-linear, meaning that they can reach "tipping points" in response to an environmental change that can lead to unexpected ecosystem responses. My NSERC DG research program will: (1) provide critical advancements of our current understanding of watershed processes, particularly as they relate to water and the dissolved and particulate substances carried by water and their role in shaping downstream microbial productivity and diversity; (2) document and project the changing rates of watershed processes over time (focusing on gradual change and extreme events); (3) explore the shifting dominance in watershed processes across space (from small catchments to regional drainage basins); and (4) establish the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on water resources. This research program will develop interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to the study of how watershed processes will respond to a global climate change.