Ecohydrologic research investigates the effects of hydrological processes on the distribution, structure, and function of ecosystems, and the effects of biotic processes on elements of the water cycle. Groundwater dependent ecosystems are ecosystems that have their species composition and natural ecologic processes determined by groundwater processes. In this class, we discuss and quantify ecohydrologic processes in groundwater dependent ecosystems. We will develop techniques to exploit the signal contained within diurnal watertable fluctuations to quantify the groundwater component of ET. We will explore a variety of approaches for quantitatively describing how groundwater controls vegetation composition. We will integrate the understanding we develop about the ecohydrologic functioning of groundwater dependent ecosystems to simulate coupled hydrologic and ecologic processes for prediction of vegetation patterning.

Prerequisites: Course in hydrogeology or groundwater. Familiarity with, or willingness to learn to use basic Matlab functions with quick start tutorial from instructor.