The role of trees in water transport at the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory

Katie Gaines, Penn State

February 16, 2012 @ 12:20 pm to 01:10 pm

111 Tyson Building

The objective of my research is to examine the role of trees in the water cycle, starting with the structure and function of individual trees, and scaling up to estimates of ecosystem-scale tree water flux. In my doctoral dissertation, my goal is to develop widely applicable techniques to study the role of trees in the water cycle to help inform hydrologic models, forest management decisions, and public policy. I plan to combine several plant ecophysiological tools to investigate the effect of tree species on the timing, depth, and amount of water uptake, and then scale up using allometry at the catchment level and leaf area index at the ecosystem scale. I plan to address the following main topics in my dissertation: Water sources, tree water residence time, estimates of transpiration, and phenological controls on water uptake. I plan to conduct the majority of my research at the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (Shale Hills) and the surrounding Shaver s Creek watershed.

Contact

Jason Hill
ecologyservice@psu.edu