Grant: Canada Research Chairs

The Canada Research Chair in Ecohydrology will investigate ecosystem services related to water resources. In particular, research will focus on (i) ecohydrology of agricultural systems, noting that more than 70% of human water use is for agriculture; (ii) carbon fluxes in ecohydrological systems, addressing questions of how the water cycle and the carbon cycle interact; and (iii) improving the resilience of managed ecohydrological systems. Research approaches will include field-based experiments, remote sensing and modelling approaches. Key collaborations will be developed to ensure engagement with research users and stakeholders while providing novel training opportunities to students and postdoctoral fellows. The proposed CRC program is designed to improve our fundamental understanding of interactions and feedbacks among water resources, ecological functions and land use practices. The central objective of the program of research in ecohydrology is to evaluate how land use practices influence coupled hydrological and ecological processes, and how impacts on these ecohydrological processes further affect ecosystem services including carbon sequestration. Specific objectives are to characterize ecohydrological controls, feedbacks and stressors in agroecosystems, scale-up research on ecohydrological controls to the landscape and global scales using remote sensing and model-based approaches, characterize ecohydrological controls on carbon drainage fluxes, and characterize ecohydrological resilience in relation to novel soil and water management strategies, including the strategic use of biochar. The program will continue to examine feedbacks between hydrology and ecology using approaches that integrate basic and applied research in natural and managed land-water systems. Applied dimensions of the research program include the investigation of strategies to improve the sustainability of land use practices vis-à-vis freshwater security under current and future climatic conditions.