Hydrological services of an Andean Amazon Cloud Forest

Investigator: 
Manuel Mavila
Advisor: 
Shimon Anisfeld
Start Date: 
September, 2010
Description: 

My Master’s research will assess to what extent land use-induced disturbances affect the hydraulic properties of soils in a montane cloud forest catchment.  The infiltration capacity and the hydraulic conductivity of soils and their biophysical characteristics under the main land covers will be quantified.  By integrating this information with rainfall intensities and soil moisture dynamics, it will be possible to model infiltration, overland flow and erosion processes across different land uses.  This will allow the construction of hydrologic models for local water resource managers, the monitoring and improvement of the hydrological services this watershed provides, as well as forest conservation strategies for this region.

An important step in this process is to develop a land cover classification that involves ground truthing.  Classification of satellite images will be a critical component of this process.