How forest disturbance affects forest-water interactions and water availability to ecosystems is a timely issue. Despite an increase in restoration efforts, forest cover has declined in the past fifty years. Natural and human disturbances affect forest components (e.g. canopy and leaf area, litter and soil surface, rooting depth, and soil porosity) that in turn affect hydrological processes (e.g. interception, evapotranspiration, infiltration, soil moisture storage, and percolation).
Natural disturbances, including insects and pathogens, wildfires, ice storms, and windthrow events can alter hydrological processes directly, as well as through changes to stand characteristics. Human activities including the harvest of old growth, second growth, plantation, or urban/peri-urban forests along with forest restoration and agroforestry can also alter forest hydrology.
However, each disturbance process affects different components of the forest, producing distinctive hydrological stress, which can vary depending on local conditions, including climate, soil, and stand composition. Forest disturbance will directly alter forest hydrological processes, highlighting a clear need for more geographically extensive and long-term studies on these different factors impacting forest-water interactions.
This Research Topic aims to characterize the effects of forest disturbance on forest-water interactions and hydrological processes. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions, encouraging discussion of forest-water interactions and its feedback mechanisms to external disturbance. Our topics could provide insight for the management of forest around the world.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
• Effects of forest disturbance on soil hydrology
• Canopy interception in response to forest disturbance
• Role of the surface litter layer in controlling soil and water loss
• Soil water use efficiency under different disturbance conditions
• Response of nutrient fertilization on soil water use strategy
• Interaction of climate change and soil water use efficiency.
How forest disturbance affects forest-water interactions and water availability to ecosystems is a timely issue. Despite an increase in restoration efforts, forest cover has declined in the past fifty years. Natural and human disturbances affect forest components (e.g. canopy and leaf area, litter and soil surface, rooting depth, and soil porosity) that in turn affect hydrological processes (e.g. interception, evapotranspiration, infiltration, soil moisture storage, and percolation).
Natural disturbances, including insects and pathogens, wildfires, ice storms, and windthrow events can alter hydrological processes directly, as well as through changes to stand characteristics. Human activities including the harvest of old growth, second growth, plantation, or urban/peri-urban forests along with forest restoration and agroforestry can also alter forest hydrology.
However, each disturbance process affects different components of the forest, producing distinctive hydrological stress, which can vary depending on local conditions, including climate, soil, and stand composition. Forest disturbance will directly alter forest hydrological processes, highlighting a clear need for more geographically extensive and long-term studies on these different factors impacting forest-water interactions.
This Research Topic aims to characterize the effects of forest disturbance on forest-water interactions and hydrological processes. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions, encouraging discussion of forest-water interactions and its feedback mechanisms to external disturbance. Our topics could provide insight for the management of forest around the world.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
• Effects of forest disturbance on soil hydrology
• Canopy interception in response to forest disturbance
• Role of the surface litter layer in controlling soil and water loss
• Soil water use efficiency under different disturbance conditions
• Response of nutrient fertilization on soil water use strategy
• Interaction of climate change and soil water use efficiency.
