The over-arching goal of this project is to understand the trade-offs between forest and streamflow resilience in dry forests through management-relevant research and extension.

 

The specific goal for the RESEARCH is generate useful information about hydrologic impacts forest-thinning practices for forest owners and other stakeholders via the with the state-of-the-art model RHESSys. The objectives of the research activities include:

1. Assess which spatial forest thinning strategies could reduce vulnerability of forest ecosystems to drought across a range of biophysical gradients in dry forest stands.

2. Assess the potential for changes in streamflow under the same forest thinning scenarios.

 

The specific goal for the EXTENSION is to increase the use of scientifically-based forest thinning practices by communicating findings from the forest-thinning simulations to forest-owners and other relevant stakeholders. The objectives of extension activities include:

1. Facilitate forest owners understanding the trade-offs in forest thinning between the resilience of forest ecosystems and the resilience of streamflow in drought

2. Evaluate the potential use of forestry practices that increase drought resilience in dry forests.