Forest Hydrology and Ecology at Coweeta


Book Description

Based on Papers Presented during a 3-Day Symposium Held in Athens, Georgia in October 1984 to Commemorate 50 Years of Research at the Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory







Forest Hydrology


Book Description

Forests cover approximately 26% of the world's land surface area and represent a distinct biotic community. They interact with water and soil in a variety of ways, providing canopy surfaces which trap precipitation and allow evaporation back into the atmosphere, thus regulating how much water reaches the forest floor as through fall, as well as pull water from the soil for transpiration. The discipline "forest hydrology" has been developed throughout the 20th century. During that time human intervention in natural landscapes has increased, and land use and management practices have intensified. The book will be useful for graduate students, professionals, land managers, practitioners, and researchers with a good understanding of the basic principles of hydrology and hydrologic processes.




Holistic Science


Book Description

The Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia is recognized globally as an outstanding ecological research centre. The evolution of the Institute of Ecology paralleled the emergence of ecology as a major discipline along with the environmental awareness movement during the last half of the 20th century. Holistic Science: The Evolution of the Georgia Institute of Ecology (1940-2000) assists the reader in understanding not only the challenges, opportunities, and personalities that are bound with the history of the Georgia Institute of Ecology, but also the challenges and obstacles that are involved in establishing an effective interdisciplinary research programme within traditionally fragmented boundaries. Scholars and policy makers increasingly recognize that holistic approaches are needed to address major environmental issues and problems in the 21st century.




Waters of Coweeta


Book Description

This publication is designed to highlight the results of 20 years of streamflow studies at Coweeta, borrowing text and pictorial illustrations from the documentary film, "Waters of Coweeta."




Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics


Book Description

Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics is a comprehensive review of the hydrological and physiological functioning of tropical rain forests, the environmental impacts of their disturbance and conversion to other land uses, and optimum strategies for managing them. The book brings together leading specialists in such diverse fields as tropical anthropology and human geography, environmental economics, climatology and meteorology, hydrology, geomorphology, plant and aquatic ecology, forestry and conservation agronomy. The editors have supplemented the individual contributions with invaluable overviews of the main sections and provide key pointers for future research. Specialists will find authenticated detail in chapters written by experts on a whole range of people-water-land use issues, managers and practitioners will learn more about the implications of ongoing and planned forest conversion, while scientists and students will appreciate a unique review of the literature.




Forest Hydrology


Book Description

Although a few texts on forest hydrology are available, they cover very little, if any, background on water resources. On the other hand, books dealing with water resources do not cover topics on forest-water relations. The one exception to this is Forest Hydrology: An Introduction to Water and Forests. Now with the publication of a revised edition, this volume adds information from recent studies to go even further in providing an introduction to forest hydrology that brings water resources and forest-water relations into a single practical and comprehensive volume Focusing on processes and general principles, the first six chapters provide an introduction and basic background in water and water resources, while the last seven chapters look at the impact of forests on water. Between these two groupings is a chapter that serves as an entry to the study of forest impacts on water resources, describing forests and forest characteristics important to water circulation, sediment movement, and stream habitat. This second edition also features new information on forests and flooding, forest and stream habitat, snow vaporization processes, and GIS methods in hydrology research, examples on evaporation estimates, and a new appendix on forest interception measurements. Employing examples and case studies, the book provides tools to help natural resource managers play an active role in policymaking and land-use planning, and in developing partnerships with stakeholders. It also offers unique perspectives for addressing urban sprawl.







Stream Ecology


Book Description

Running waters are enormously diverse, ranging from torrential mountain brooks, to large lowland rivers, to great river systems whose basins occupy subcontinents. While this diversity makes river ecosystems seem overwhelmingly complex, a central theme of this volume is that the processes acting in running waters are general, although the settings are often unique. The past two decades have seen major advances in our knowledge of the ecology of streams and rivers. New paradigms have emerged, such as the river continuum and nutrient spiraling. Community ecologists have made impressive advances in documenting the occurrence of species interactions. The importance of physical processes in rivers has attracted increased attention, particularly the areas of hydrology and geomorphology, and the inter-relationships between physical and biological factors have become better understood. And as is true for every area of ecology during the closing years of the twentieth century it has become apparent that the study of streams and rivers cannot be carried out by excluding the role of human activities, nor can we ignore the urgency of the need for conservation. These developments are brought together in Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters, designed to serve as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and as a reference book for specialists in stream ecology and related fields.




Ecosystem Goods and Services from Plantation Forests


Book Description

Plantation forests often have a negative image. They are typically assumed to be poor substitutes for natural forests, particularly in terms of biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, provision of clean drinking water and other non-timber goods and services. Often they are monocultures that do not appear to invite people for recreation and other direct uses. Yet as this book clearly shows, they can play a vital role in the provision of ecosystem services, when compared to agriculture and other forms of land use or when natural forests have been degraded. This is the first book to examine explicitly the non-timber goods and services provided by plantation forests, including soil, water and biodiversity conservation, as well as carbon sequestration and the provision of local livelihoods. The authors show that, if we require a higher provision of ecosystem goods and services from both temperate and tropical plantations, new approaches to their management are required. These include policies, methods for valuing the services, the practices of small landholders, landscape approaches to optimise delivery of goods and services, and technical issues about how to achieve suitable solutions at the scale of forest stands. While providing original theoretical insights, the book also gives guidance for plantation managers, policy-makers, conservation practitioners and community advocates, who seek to promote or strengthen the multiple-use of forest plantations for improved benefits for society. Published with CIFOR