WETLANDMODEL · Modelling wetland hydrology and the impact of human interference on its hydrological processes
FP6 — Marie Curie Actions (Human Resources and Mobility)
- Duration
- 2006-01-01 → 2007-09-30
- EU contribution
- €168,232
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- EIF
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Results in brief
Final Activity Report Summary - WETLANDMODEL (Modelling wetland hydrology and the impact of human interference on its hydrological processes)
The project aimed at developing software tools and new techniques to improve sustainable management and conservation of tropical alpine wetlands. The water cycle of these environments differs strongly from other ecosystem, mainly due to the specific volcanic soils and the extreme meteorological conditions such as temperature and rainfall. The project has fulfilled it aims through the following actions: - a new model was developed, based on existing modelling frameworks for shallow, mountainous catchments and applied to 4 experimental catchments in the Ecuadorian Andes. Field data collected before and during the fellowship were incorporated in the model to improve its representatity and performance - A new uncertainty framework was developed to improve the prediction of human impacts on the water cycle. The framework is based on state-of-the-art uncertainty techniques (the Extended Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation). It explores the uncertainty of model predictions in non-stationary conditions, improves data assimilation in the model, and facilitates the extraction of new information from existing data. - The results of the first part of the project were published in several peer-reviewed journals during the first and second year of the project (Earth-Science Reviews, Geomorphology, Catena, Forest Ecology and Management). The results of the second part of the project are submitted as two papers to Journal of Hydrology. - The project has given the researcher the possibility to expand his research network considerable. He has visited universities and research institutes in the UK, Belgium, US, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. He has given oral presentations at several international scientific meetings and was invited for presentations and interviews in NGO's, institutes and national and internationacl policy bodies such as CGIAR, the Ecuadorian government and the Comunidad Andina de Naciones.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Wetlands have an important ecological and economic function as water resource and regulation areas. However, this function is very fragile for human interference. Land use changes and climate change may have a large impact on the hydrological processes occ urring in wetland soils. This proposal aims at a description of the changes in soil structure and hydraulic properties in wetland soils triggered by human interference. Both an experimental and a modelling approach are foreseen. In a first phase, field exp eriments will be set up for a quantitative description of the hydraulic properties of wetland soils and the impact of human interference. Laboratory experiments are planned to assess the impact of changing environmental conditions such as temperature and m oisture conditions on the soil hydraulic properties. Based on these data, algorithms will be developed that accurately describe the observed processes. Using data from hill slope scale experiments and runoff measurements, these processes are upscaled from pedon scale to a fully functional hydrological model. Modelling hydrological processes in wetland soils is particularly challenging, as many classical soil-water interaction concepts cannot be applied. Swell and shrink properties, preferential flow paths a nd non-Darcian flow occur much more regularly than in mineral soils. As a result, non-rigid soil theories have to be incorporated in the hydrological model. Finally, the developed model will be used to carry out a scenario analysis which assesses the impac t of future changes in climate and land use on the hydrology of wetlands. The results of this analysis are indispensable for future sustainable wetlands management. The study also has a strong interdisciplinary aspect, combining soil physics with advanced computational techniques, geographical information systems and land management. As a result, it is necessary to establish a strong and multidisciplinary research network.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- LANCASTER UNIVERSITY · LANCASTERCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union