Eco-hydrology of prairie wetlands and management implications: Synthesis of a 50-year study
Speaker: Masaki Hayashi
Affiliation: Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Canada
Location: QNC 1501, University of Waterloo (2:30 pm start)
Abstract: Eco-hydrology can be broadly defined as the interaction between living organisms and physical components of the hydrologic cycle. Eco-hydrological understanding of aquatic environments has far reaching implications for protection, restoration, and management of these environments. I will present a unique case study of the northern prairie wetland ecosystem in Canada, where long-term monitoring and focused experiments over the past 47 years have generated a body of fundamental scientific knowledge that is beginning to guide policy development for wetland protection and restoration. The key findings are: 1) long-term monitoring of basic hydrological and ecological variables is necessary to assess the response of wetlands to natural and anthropogenic stresses; 2) effective management of wetlands requires the consideration of wetland complexes, as opposed to individual wetlands, and the hydrological linkage between wetlands and surrounding uplands; and 3) biodiversity of prairie wetlands depends on the diversity in water regimes (e.g. ephemeral, seasonal, permanent) within a wetland complex, in other words, hydro-diversity.
For my biography and research interests, please visit www.ucalgary.ca/hayashi/