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Spatial and temporal controls on watershed ecohydrology in the northern Rocky Mountains

Publication ,  Journal Article
Emanuel, RE; Epstein, HE; McGlynn, BL; Welsch, DL; Muth, DJ; D'Odorico, P
Published in: Water Resources Research
December 10, 2010

Vegetation water stress plays an important role in the movement of water through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. However, the effects of water stress on evapotranspiration (ET) and other hydrological processes at the watershed scale remain poorly understood due in part to spatially and temporally heterogeneous conditions within the watershed, especially in areas of mountainous terrain. We used a spatially distributed model to understand and evaluate the relationship between water stress and ET in a forested mountain watershed during the snow-free growing season. Vegetation water stress increased as the growing season progressed, due to continued drying of soils, and persisted late into the growing season, even as vapor pressure deficit decreased with lower temperatures. As a result, ET became decoupled from vapor pressure deficit and became increasingly dependent on soil moisture later in the growing season, shifting from demand limitation to supply limitation. We found water stress and total growing season ET to be distributed nonuniformly across the watershed due to interactions between topography and vegetation. Areas having tall vegetation and low topographic index experienced the greatest water stress, yet they had some of the highest evapotranspiration rates in the watershed. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

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Published In

Water Resources Research

DOI

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

December 10, 2010

Volume

46

Issue

11

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
 

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Emanuel, R. E., Epstein, H. E., McGlynn, B. L., Welsch, D. L., Muth, D. J., & D’Odorico, P. (2010). Spatial and temporal controls on watershed ecohydrology in the northern Rocky Mountains. Water Resources Research, 46(11). https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008890
Emanuel, R. E., H. E. Epstein, B. L. McGlynn, D. L. Welsch, D. J. Muth, and P. D’Odorico. “Spatial and temporal controls on watershed ecohydrology in the northern Rocky Mountains.” Water Resources Research 46, no. 11 (December 10, 2010). https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008890.
Emanuel RE, Epstein HE, McGlynn BL, Welsch DL, Muth DJ, D’Odorico P. Spatial and temporal controls on watershed ecohydrology in the northern Rocky Mountains. Water Resources Research. 2010 Dec 10;46(11).
Emanuel, R. E., et al. “Spatial and temporal controls on watershed ecohydrology in the northern Rocky Mountains.” Water Resources Research, vol. 46, no. 11, Dec. 2010. Scopus, doi:10.1029/2009WR008890.
Emanuel RE, Epstein HE, McGlynn BL, Welsch DL, Muth DJ, D’Odorico P. Spatial and temporal controls on watershed ecohydrology in the northern Rocky Mountains. Water Resources Research. 2010 Dec 10;46(11).
Journal cover image

Published In

Water Resources Research

DOI

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

December 10, 2010

Volume

46

Issue

11

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience