Effects of dynamic vegetation and topography on hydrological processes in semi-arid areas

Ecosystems of dry climates represent a particularly interesting object for ecohydrological studies, as water is generally considered to be the key limiting resource. This work focuses on vegetation-water-energy dynamics occurring in the complex terrain of a semi-arid area characteristic of central New Mexico. The study constructs a dynamic model of coupled interactions, [tRIBS+VEGGIE], that considers essential water and energy processes over the river basin and links them to the basic plant life regulatory processes. After model calibration, a set of numerical experiments is carried out for two small-scale synthetic domains that exhibit characteristic hillslope curvatures. A weather generator is used to create the long-term series of meteorological forcing. The linkages between terrain attributes and patterns of C4 grass productivity and water balance components are examined for three generic soil types: sand, loam, and clay. It is argued that in conditions of negligible moisture exchange, site aspect and slope are the key determinants of both the hydrologic behavior and the degree of "favorability" to vegetation.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Ivanov, Valeri Yuryevich, 1974-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Rafael L. Bras.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34613
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34613

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34613