Reflections on the State of Forest Hydrology and Biogeochemistry

Abstract

There is no question that research conducted by the forest hydrology and biogeochemistry communities over the past several decades has vastly improved our knowledge of the natural world. As reflected in this book, the research output has been both prolific and of high quality, leading to an improved understanding of water and chemical transport within and through forests. The cutting-edge research from Hubbard Brook and other long-term sites has been key in formulating elemental budgets and understanding the effects of stressors, such as acid rain, on forest biogeochemistry. The myriad of more specific process-based studies of forest hydrology and biogeochemistry, in conjunction with these longer term studies, has permitted a wiser management and use of forests. Advances in remote sensing, geographical information science, eddy covariance, fluorescence spectroscopy, isotopes, and solute mixing models have been essential in understanding the transport, modification, and fate of water, carbon, and inorganic solutes through forested ecosystems. While much has been learned to date about the hydrological and biogeochemical processes that cycle water, solutes, particulates, and gases within and through forests that has led to an increased understanding among different ecoregions and forest types, as reviewed and synthesized in this volume, there is still a great deal to learn about the functional ecology, hydrology, and biogeochemistry of forests.