About this Research Topic
Forests provide several important ecosystem services including water regulation and conservation. Global change (such as climate change, land use and land cover change, and biodiversity loss) impose potential influences on catchment water resources. The impacts of forest management (e.g. wood harvesting, afforestation, thinning, road construction, etc.) on forest ecohydrological processes (e.g., energy, water, carbon, and nutrient cycling) have been widely explored and debated. However, we do not fully understand the consequences of global change drivers on ecohydrological processes while considering forest management practices.
The main aim of this Research Topic is to explore the important links between ecohydrological processes and water-related ecosystem services and functions in both natural and managed forest ecosystems. For example, it could be vital to explore how extreme climate events such as the magnitude of temperature changes and shifts in precipitation patterns, determine forest ecohydrological processes, and how water stress conditions affect downward stream flow and water availability. Moreover, it has been known that forest management practices (such as targeted thinning operations) can successfully alleviate the effects of drought on tree growth and mortality, ultimately increasing water yield. Similarly, excessive GHG emissions (especially CO2) in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic disturbances are expected to influence forest hydrological cycles directly and indirectly via effects on stomatal conductance and plant productivity. The land cover change caused by natural and managed vegetation dynamics might be another important mechanism to explain ecohydrological processes under global change.
This Research Topic welcomes all submission types, including theoretical and experimental studies in all types of managed forests (including plantations) and comparisons with natural forests, to address future challenges to forest scientists and practitioners. We encourage submission of research and review papers in the following topics but not limited to:
- Impacts of global change drivers on water resources in forests.
- Impacts of biodiversity loss on water resources in forests under drought and heat conditions.
- Impacts of forest and watershed management on water resources in light of global change.
- Impacts of forest water loss on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
- Linking hydraulic traits with community assembly and ecosystem functioning under environmental conditions in forest ecosystems.
- Spatio-temporal variation of streamflow response to forest management with changing climate and land use.
- Impacts of the socioeconomic factors on forest water resources for sustainable development and climate change mitigation
- Impact of global changes on ecohydrological processes and functions of the forested watershed, and provision of ecosystem services
The main aim of this Research Topic is to explore the important links between ecohydrological processes and water-related ecosystem services and functions in both natural and managed forest ecosystems. For example, it could be vital to explore how extreme climate events such as the magnitude of temperature changes and shifts in precipitation patterns, determine forest ecohydrological processes, and how water stress conditions affect downward stream flow and water availability. Moreover, it has been known that forest management practices (such as targeted thinning operations) can successfully alleviate the effects of drought on tree growth and mortality, ultimately increasing water yield. Similarly, excessive GHG emissions (especially CO2) in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic disturbances are expected to influence forest hydrological cycles directly and indirectly via effects on stomatal conductance and plant productivity. The land cover change caused by natural and managed vegetation dynamics might be another important mechanism to explain ecohydrological processes under global change.
This Research Topic welcomes all submission types, including theoretical and experimental studies in all types of managed forests (including plantations) and comparisons with natural forests, to address future challenges to forest scientists and practitioners. We encourage submission of research and review papers in the following topics but not limited to:
- Impacts of global change drivers on water resources in forests.
- Impacts of biodiversity loss on water resources in forests under drought and heat conditions.
- Impacts of forest and watershed management on water resources in light of global change.
- Impacts of forest water loss on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
- Linking hydraulic traits with community assembly and ecosystem functioning under environmental conditions in forest ecosystems.
- Spatio-temporal variation of streamflow response to forest management with changing climate and land use.
- Impacts of the socioeconomic factors on forest water resources for sustainable development and climate change mitigation
- Impact of global changes on ecohydrological processes and functions of the forested watershed, and provision of ecosystem services
Keywords: Watershed management, Ecohydrology, Climate change, Land use, Biodiversity loss, Ecosystem functions
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
