Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/4433
Title: Preface: hydrogeoecology, the interdisciplinary study of groundwater dependent ecosystems
Contributor(s): Hancock, Peter J  (author); Hunt, Randall J (author); Boulton, Andrew J  (author)
Publication Date: 2009
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/4433
Abstract: Although we are still developing our understanding, there is increasing recognition that groundwater is essential to many ecological communities. Groundwater is a connector, not just in the aquifer itself, but within, across, and between surface waters and many terrestrial ecosystems. Where the water table intersects or comes close to the land surface, contributions of water and nutrients to plant roots and aquatic ecosystems can be critical to their persistence. Consider that precipitation is the dominant source of water in nearly all wetland systems, yet the influence of the lesser groundwater flow component can be sufficient from an ecological perspective to yield an entire new type of wetland, the fen. Influxes of groundwater to lakes, rivers, and wetlands can change whole-system physico–chemical properties such as temperature and salinity, while also providing more subtle influences on microenvironments and their ecological processes. Infiltration of water from surface aquatic ecosystems and rainfall can have an equally significant effect on aquifer ecology, especially on microbes and subsurface invertebrates. Whether water is flowing into or out of an aquifer, or is moving from one part to another, it is the extent and intensity of connectivity that often determines its importance to ecosystems. Moreover, the same location in space can have all three types of flows at different periods of time. Surface ecological processes (such as evapotranspiration) can significantly impact hydrological responses and related hydrochemical function. Thus, the relation of groundwater hydrology to patterns and processes in ecology is a 'two-way street' where understanding the feedback of one to the other serves as a powerful lens through which to evaluate and explain the functioning of natural ecosystems.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Hydrogeology Journal, 17(1), p. 1-3
Publisher: Springer
Place of Publication: Germany
ISSN: 1435-0157
1431-2174
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 050205 Environmental Management
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960999 Land and Water Management of Environments not elsewhere classified
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Publisher/associated links: http://www.springerlink.com/content/hggl515g3rx66w5t/fulltext.pdf
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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