Ecohydrological regulation of forest hillslope and catchment runoff

落基山脉森林地区生产加拿大西部和美国的绝大多数地区供水，气候变化对这些供水的潜在影响是整个北美的一个主要战略问题，因为预计降雨/降雪的变化以及气候对这些森林健康的压力，包括野火、病虫害和风暴破坏造成的自然干扰增加。深山积雪的积累和融化是该区域供水的关键调节因素，降水变化和森林健康对该区域水文学的潜在相互作用目前高度不确定。虽然最近的研究主要集中在了解调节水文对气候变化的敏感性或复原力的因素以及区域间陆地干扰的影响，但落基山脉地区对气候变化和干扰的水文复原力目前尚不清楚。

Forested regions of the Rocky Mountains produce the vast majority regional water supplies in western Canada and the U.S. and potential impacts climate change on these water supplies is a major strategic concern across North America because of both projected changes in rainfall/snowfall and climate pressures on the health of these forests including increasing natural disturbances by wildfire, disease and insect attack, and storm damage. Accumulation and melting of deep mountain snowpacks is a key regulator of water supplies from this region and the potential interacting effects of both changing precipitation and forest health on hydrology of this region are currently highly uncertain. While much recent research is focused on understanding the factors regulating hydrologic sensitivity or resilience to climate change and impacts of land disturbance among regions, the hydrologic resilience to climate change and disturbance in the Rocky Mountain region is presently unclear.