Ecohydrological regulation of forest hillslope and catchment runoff

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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.