Mike Goulden UC Irvine (mgoulden@uci.edu) Ill talk about two - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Mike Goulden UC Irvine (mgoulden@uci.edu) I’ll talk about two projects in the Sierra National Forest (above Fresno, near Shaver Lake) Sierra Nevada Critical Zone Observatory (Sierra CZO) • Funded by NSF • Roger Bales PI (UC Merced) • Basic science (hydrology, ecology, biogeochemistry, climate change) • Lots of high tech measurements – methods development Kings River Experimental Watershed (KREW) • Funded by USFS • Carolyn Hunsaker PI (USFS PSW Fresno lab) • Effects of montane forest thinning and prescribed fire on water quality and quantity • Less high tech – an excellent experimental design and approach that seems very relevant to what you are discussing • I’m not really involved in KREW but familiar with what they are doing

Relationships between elevation, climate, and ecosystem properties in the Sierra CZO Mike Goulden and the Sierra CZO Science Team Sierra CZO Research focus: water balance, nutrient cycling & weathering across the rain-snow transition

Sierra CZO Science Questions • What are spatial and temporal patterns of water balance, biogeochemistry, plant production, etc? • What physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms control these patterns? • How might climate change affect water balance, biogeochemistry, plant production, etc? Methodological Needs • Approaches to sample spatial and temporal heterogeneity • Methods that hold up to harsh conditions • Measure the same thing several ways – close budgets • Experimental design that addresses climate

Sierra CZO Unifying theme - Water balance Sierra CZO Core PIs Roger Bales et al - Mountain hydrology and biogeochemistry – evapotranspiration precipitation snow depth, meteorology, etc Martha Conklin - Groundwater- surface water interactions - meadow hydrology – wells, etc Steven Glaser - wireless sensor networks for environmental monitoring - 60-node network Michael Goulden – Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology- flux tower, etc infiltration snowmelt Jan Hopmans - Vadose Zone Hydrology- soil moisture, sap flow, Carolyn Hunsaker - landscape ecology - stream gauges, water- quality, etc sublimation Dale Johnson - Biogeochemical cycling – spatial and temporal N streamflow dynamics, etc Clifford Riebe - geomorphology – rates or erosion, soil formation, et ground & surface Christina Tague – coupled hydrology water exchange and ecosystem modeling

Sierra CZO Elev., m Experimental design 3000 elevation/climate gradient 2400 1800 1200 600

2020 m • Midmontane forest • Annual mean T 8.9 o C • Winter mean T 3.7 o C • Annual P1015mm • 130 days w/ snow • Max tree ht 30.1 m • 53% Tree cover

Sierra CZO

KREW

KREW

KREW

Two thoughts • Effects of treatment of water balance often surprisingly small and recovery surprisingly fast • High tech instruments are helpful, but a good experimental design and control are essential More info: Sierra Critical Zone Observatory http://criticalzone.org/sierra/ Second link if you Google: SSCZO KREW http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/water/kingsriver/ First link if you Google: KREW Hunsaker Several nice pages on right panel “About this Research”