Name
Examination of evapotranspiration relative to sub-surface processes governing surface water storage and groundwater-surface-water interactions in a sub-alpine wetland in the Rocky Mountains
Description
Mountains receive more precipitation, less evapotranspiration (ET) and store larger amounts of water in snow and ice than lower elevation areas. This makes mountains important sources of water for lower elevation areas downstream. Evapotranspiration, which is the sum of transpiration through plant canopy and evaporation from soil, plant, and open surface water, can be the greatest component of the hydrologic cycle in mountain systems. Therefore, accurate quantification of ET in mountain environments is crucial in the allocation of water for downstream needs such as irrigation in agriculture, changing land use impacts on water yield, surface and groundwater quantity and quality. Wetlands play a critical role in managing the carbon cycle on a global scale and reducing the effects of climate change. CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is a significant component of the carbon cycle, with wetlands being one of the largest natural sources of CO2 emissions. Using an Android application, named Flux Puppy, manual chamber-based measurements of CO2 and H2O were completed in a sub-alpine wetland in the Rocky Mountains to understand ecosystem carbon metabolism. The main vegetation communities found in the wetland consisted of Willow, Sedge, Moss and Litter. Carbon sequestration was found to be greatest in the Willow communities and lowest in Moss, where the amount of CO2 absorbed in Willow, exceeded its emissions. High absorption in the Willow communities likely resulting from higher biological productivity. Coupling manual flux measurement systems with the Flux Puppy application, allowed for more user-friendly and field-efficient measurements of CO2 and H2O flux.