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MEET A LEAF: Travis Huxman

10/26/2020

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Dr. Travis E. Huxman is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine.
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What does ecohydrology mean to you?
Ecohydrology is the beautiful, contemporary convergence within the natural sciences reconsidering our approach to systems and units of study at a moment when a century of reductionist traditions has led us to highly contextualized, divergent explanations for how the world works. I know that’s a mouthful and a broader definition than what most folks consider. But I find that this is what the community is operationally tackling. Our units of study in science are arbitrary, and within our disciplines, they are anchored to tradition. I have found it extremely useful to extend my approach to questioning beyond the narrow hierarchy of life (organisms, population, communities, etc.) and to explicitly consider how the environment is an important system feature where biology and physical sciences collide. Ecohydrology highlights how we need each other’s histories, theories, and techniques to understand how the world works, and a focus on the linkages provided by water among organisms, geochemistry, substrate, and transport has been important for inspiring creativity. Some folks focus on the narrow definition of the term and its origins, but to me ecohydrology encompasses an area of scholarship that is about confronting contrasting world-views head to a greater extent than just linking hydrology and ecology.
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What are your undergraduate and graduate degrees in?
I’m a first generation college student, who had no idea what I was doing when I went to school. I began my undergraduate work at Chaffey Community College in California as a Spanish Literature major, but quickly changed to Biology when I found a charismatic professor who really helped young people find the connection between their interests and their aptitudes. I attended California State University, San Bernardino, where I received a Bachelors and Masters degree in Biology. I then studied under Stan Smith at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for my Doctorate.

How did you arrive at working in/thinking about ecohydrology?
While I know now that I was always drawn to the types of questions we tackle in ecohydrology, the focus on water balance associated with my time at UNLV, working on the Nevada Desert FACE Facility and at the Niwot Ridge Ameriflux site with Russ Monson at the University of Colorado, were the foundations in physiological ecology that prepared me for the kind of science I now tackle (and have for the last several decades). A cynical scholar might say that the field of plant water relations was re-named ecohydrology (as might other disciplines!), but training as a physiological ecologist provided me a good balance of history and approach in preparation for the modern science we now carry out. When I came to the University of Arizona, where the NSF Science and Technology Center SAHRA was running full speed ahead, I was welcomed to table by a group of leading Earth scientists, who understood the big questions and the need for interdisciplinary scholarship. Dave Goodrich, Soroosh Sorooshian, Jim Shuttleworth, Tom Maddock, Roger Bales and others made a place for a whole cohort of ‘early career’ folks like myself, that felt empowered to ask questions without the restraint of discipline (this included folks like Russ Scott, Tom Meixner, Paul Brooks, Dave Breshears, Peter Troch, Jon Chorover, among others). As such, we found a community, organizing questions (surrounding water balance), research sites, and graduate students that helped us look at how the world worked from many different angles. I like to think that we also passed along this approach and environment to the faculty that came after us. It was an amazing, creative time that compelled me to grow as a scholar.

What do you see as an important emerging area of ecohydrology?
The area that excites me is the question of how far eco-evolutionary principles can extend to explain ecohydrological phenomena. Inherent in many of the ways we approach ecosystem and landscape processes, extends concepts illuminated with science focused on individual organisms through the lens of evolutionary ecology. A great example is the concept of optimality in stomatal behavior or the safety-efficiency debate in plant hydraulics. These ideas are embedded in such issues as response the the earth system to rising atmospheric CO2 and temperature, ecosystem susceptibility to mortality associated with drought, and the issue of responding to changes in nitrogen deposition. But how robust are the concepts and are they indeed predictive of behavior at higher levels of the life hierarchy? Included in this are the ways that humans modify the landscape and contribute to other aspects of global change.

Do you have a favorite ecohydrology paper?  Describe/explain.
I’m the guy who hears the next song on the radio and says, “This is my favorite song!” So my favorite ecohydrology paper is the one I’ve most recently seen!

However, like many of my colleagues I was inspired by Noy-Meir (1973) as a student, but more directly by Smith et al. (1995) [Soil-plant water relations in a Mojave Desert mixed shrub community. Journal of Arid Environments 29:339-35]}. Noy-Meir helped me think about dynamic systems and how diversity contributed to process in a variable environment, but I simply loved the Smith et al., description of landscape components of a coupled, soil-plant context and the use of mass balance to understand a limiting resource in an ecosystem that I could understand.

I am also drawn to the contributions of early career folks, so I thought that the review provided by Jenerette et al., (2012) Organization of complexity in water limited ecohydrology. Ecohydrology 5:184-199 was outstanding.

I recently find myself also diving into old literature in trying to understand the foundations of our science. As a result, there is a treasure-chest of old literature from the Carnegie Desert Laboratory at Tumamoc Hill in Tucson, Arizona, especially the early work of Burton Livingstone and Forrest Shreve - they produced amazing data on plant-soil-water dynamics with very limited instrumentation!

What do you do for fun (apart from ecohydrology)?
For me water is the solvent for all fun. So, with my wife and daughters, I focus on the ecohydrology of surfing, sailing, and skiing as much as possible!
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MEET A LEAF: Juan CAmilo Villegas

10/19/2020

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Dr. Juan Camilo Villegas is an Associate Professor at Universidad de Antioquia in the School of Environment, Medellín Colombia.
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What does ecohydrology mean to you?
Ecohydrology is an open, interdisciplinary field that explores the biological, biogeochemical and, ultimately, ecological connections within and between ecosystems including “natural" (note the quotation marks) and human-dominated systems. Ecohydrological knowledge is central to addressing the most fundamental challenge humanity is facing today, the climate crisis.  

What are your undergraduate and graduate degrees in? 
I finished my undergraduate in 2000 on Environmental Engineering from the Antioquia School of Engineering, a small private engineering College in Medellín, Colombia.  I got my MSc in Forests and Environmental Conservation from the National University of Colombia, in 2006, and my PhD on Watershed Management and ecohydrology from the University of Arizona in 2010.

How did you arrive at working in/thinking about ecohydrology?
It all started with my undergraduate thesis, or perhaps before, when I was undecided which class I enjoyed better: basic hydrology or Ecology. For my undergraduate thesis, I did a review of local studies that addressed soil-water-ecosystem relationships. In my master’s thesis I studied fog interception in tropical montane cloud forests in the Andes.  Later, I moved to Arizona to study microclimate, energy and evapotranspiration partitioning in response to changes in vegetation cover in semiarid systems. I could say that all my scientific career has revolved around ecohydrology in different types of ecosystems.  I would summarize my research as understanding environmental change (including land use and climate) effects on ecosystems and their services at multiple spatial and temporal scales, through an ecohydrological lens.

What do you see as an important emerging area of ecohydrology?
More than an emerging area, addressing the fundamental challenge of the climate crisis requires the participation of all disciplines, particularly Ecohydrology.  Among the multiple aspects that are needed to address this challenge, understanding the potential feedbacks between climate change and ecosystem function, structure and composition is particularly pressing to determine the future of biodiversity, ecosystems and their services to society.  Such task, requires the integration of disciplines. I see “functional ecohydrology” as an emerging area integrating principles of functional ecology with ecohydrology to understand and predict global change effects and feedbacks with ecosystems globally,

Do you have a favorite ecohydrology paper?  Describe/explain.
Hard question.  However, I always come back to G.G. Bonan, 2008 in Science (Forests and Climate Change: Forcings, Feedbacks, and the Climate Benefits of Forests) as it has, for me, the most compelling conceptual figure on the connections between ecosystem function, energy, water and carbon, in the context of global change. Also, L.A. Bruijnzeel (2004) Hydrological functions of tropical forests: not seeing the soil for the trees? (Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment) was sort of my formal entering point to Ecohydrology, and over 15 years after I see myself revisiting it all the time. 

What do you do for fun (apart from ecohydrology)?
I have the fortune to live in a rural area, very close to a nicely preserved area that covers Andean Forest all the way to Paramo. I live with my partner Pilar, our 7 dogs, 10 chickens and one cat and wildlife that visit us every once in a while.  We are trying to restore native forest in the previously intensively grazed area of our 3.5 ha property. Planting trees, figuring out combinations of potential restoration strategies, trying to grow our own food occupy most of our fun time, and it is really fun. Brewing beer with a group of friends (though that has been stopped by the current situation) has been also my hobby in the past few years. We have had great batches but some have come out horrible (reminds me of some some paper reviews…). 
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MEET A LEAF: Molly Cain

10/12/2020

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Molly Cain is a PhD Candidate at Indiana University in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
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What does ecohydrology mean to you?
To me, ecohydrology is hydrologic research put in the context of living things. It relates the movement and storage of water, as well as the things that are transported by water—nutrients, pollutants, energy—to the ecological consequences of those fluxes and stores. Essentially, by emphasizing interactions between water quality/quantity and ecosystems, ecohydrology makes the connection between hydrologic processes and “why it matters.” This view is certainly biased towards my experiences. However, at its core ecohydrology is a malleable, multi-disciplinary science which seems to continually grow, encompassing more perspectives to achieve an increasingly holistic view of the feedbacks between water and ecosystems.

What are your undergraduate and graduate degrees in?
I received my B.Sc. in Geosciences from Penn State and am currently working on my PhD in Environmental Science at Indiana University, with a focus on hydrology.

How did you arrive at working in/thinking about ecohydrology?
During a prospective student visitation day at Penn State, I was profoundly affected by a statement made by a professor. "For geoscientists," he said, "the outdoors is our laboratory." What began as a desire to work outside while pursuing my degree propelled me into a journey that would lead to a passion for discovery and problem-solving, particularly related to water resources. I had influential mentors who provided opportunities to work in hydrologic systems early in my academic career. As an undergraduate research assistant through the Critical Zone Observatories program, I monitored the effect of dam removal and restoration on groundwater-surface water exchange. As a summer intern with NOAA, I worked to develop techniques to monitor wetland elevation change with respect to rising sea levels. These experiences introduced me to the concept of ecosystem services and the idea that I could contribute to the improved management of natural systems through my research. This led me to pursue a PhD focused on understanding how human modification of landscapes for agriculture alters the transport of water and nutrients to downstream waterways and, in turn, assessing the role of natural systems like floodplain wetlands in transporting and transforming water and nutrients. While I was working on questions related to the effects of hydrological processes on ecosystem functioning all along, I did not identify the research as ecohydrology until later on.

What do you see as an important emerging area of ecohydrology?
I hesitate to call it emerging because I know there are folks doing interesting work in this area, but I think there is a growing call to incorporate ecohydrological principles into decision-making and management of water resources. An exciting challenge will be to develop frameworks that integrate physical and social science, and models that incorporate both ecohydrological processes and social science data. One such approach is to model future scenarios that reflect preferred management choices of landowners and local citizens, as well as policy interventions based on ongoing political and regulatory discussions. These strategies provide an opportunity to view future outcomes, such as land-use changes and implementation of nature-based solutions, through an ecohydrologic lens and could be key to bringing ecohydrology to the forefront of the planning process.

Do you have a favorite ecohydrology paper?  Describe/explain.
There are too many great ecohydrology papers to mention! I will highlight one paper that was critical in shaping how I approach ecohydrologic research, especially at the beginning of graduate school: Savenije (2009) “The art of hydrology.” The author discusses how the process of scientific discovery, particularly hydrologic modeling, entails an element of art. Accordingly, it requires “imagination, inspiration, insight, field experience, creativity, ingenuity, and skill”—all qualities primarily associated with the field of art. While this may seem obvious, explicitly recognizing the art in ecohydrology has helped me to embrace this aspect of my role as a scientist, and I believe it is at the heart of addressing issues at the interface of water and living things.

What do you do for fun (apart from ecohydrology)?
When I am not wading through streams or chasing storms to sample, you can find me running or playing the saxophone with local swing/jazz ensembles. I also love to travel. Exploring new places and meeting people continually inspires me. Many of my experiences traveling have been facilitated by research/education, and I have found that the uniting purpose of science is one of the most powerful ways to engage with people and form meaningful connections.
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MEET A LEAF: Eli R. Perez-Ruiz

10/5/2020

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Eli Perz-Ruiz is a ​Professor at the Departamento de Ingenieria Civil y Ambiental in Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez and Ph. D. student in Geological Sciences at the School of Earth and the Space Exploration in Arizona State University.
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What does ecohydrology mean to you?
As I always define it when someone ask me what I work with, ecohydrology is the study of the relationship between hydrological and ecological processes. But to be honest, to me it is more than just that. Growing up and living all my life in desert areas of northwestern Mexico and southwestern USA, the relationship or interaction with water availability or scarcity is just a way of living. From the smell of wet earth before a storm and the creosote scented afternoons after the rain, to the ascent and senescence of vegetation with the arrival and departure of the monsoon and everything in between, I see ecohydrology as part of my life, a really enjoyable part of my life.

What are your undergraduate and graduate degrees in?
I obtained a degree in Chemistry and a master’s degree in Natural Resources from the Instituto Tecnologico de Sonora (ITSON) in Mexico. I am currently studying a Ph. D. in Geological Sciences in the School of Earth and The Space Exploration in Arizona State University (ASU).

How did you arrive at working in/thinking about ecohydrology?
I started my path in ecohydrology during my master’s studies. Initially I was focusing my efforts in chemical analysis of plants, however I wanted to do something more challenging, so I met Prof. Jaime Garatuza-Payan, who became my advisor, and I started working with water and carbon fluxes over a tropical dry forest under the influence of the North American Monsoon (NAM). During my master I also met Prof. Enrico Yepez, who became part of my dissertation committee and his energy and enthusiasm towards ecohydrology ignited even more a growing interest in the field. Prof. Garatuza-Payan and Prof. Yepez were my inspiration to study ecohydrology.

After I got my master’s degree, I continued working at ITSON as a research assistant, getting involved more and more into ecohydrology and interacting with excellent researcher from Mexico and the US. I started focusing more and more in the study of the role of water availability and precipitation variability of land surface-atmosphere interactions in arid and semi-arid landscapes.

During my doctoral studies in ASU, I have continued working with land surface-atmosphere interactions, but I have combined the study not only of natural landscape but also urban landscapes, and I have expanded the research tools I use. During my Ph. D. I have worked with carbon fluxes of urban patches in Phoenix, AZ, the landscape and environmental controls in land surface-atmosphere interaction in ecosystems of the NAM area and the interannual variability of water-energy-carbon fluxes in two woody-lant encroached ecosystem of the southwest of the US, one in the Santa Rita Experimental Range and one in the Jornada Experimental Range. My advisor, Prof. Enrique R. Vivoni has been also a fundamental inspiration in my academic and scientific life. His neatness, support and advisory have been fundamental to enhance my skills and research vision.

After finishing my Ph. D., I pretend to continue with my efforts trying to understand the role of climate variability in land surface-atmosphere interactions, involving more and more into urban landscapes but continuing with natural ecosystems as well. I hope I can ignite the ecohydrology spark to my future students in the same way my mentors did with me.
 
What do you see as an important emerging area of ecohydrology?
I think there are two fundamental areas that represent important paths to follow in ecohydrology. The first one is the urban ecohydrology, and from my point of view it represents important challenges for the scientific community. The impact of cities in the water cycle is enormous and the role of the built environment in ecohydrologial processes is still not clear due to the heterogeneity and patchiness of urban landscapes or also called “urban ecosystems”.

The second area is the social ecohydrology. I think it is important to start considering ourselves, the human beings, as part of the ecohydrological processes and not as something foreign to natural systems. I think we should understand not only how ecological and hydrological processes relate to each other but how those processes affect us and how we affect them.

Do you have a favorite ecohydrology paper?  Describe/explain.
I have two favorite papers that I like to read very often. The first one is Huxman et al., (2004) “Precipitation pulses and carbon fluxes in semiarid and arid ecosystems”. I think this paper is fundamental for the understanding of the ecoydrological processes in arid and semi-arid ecosystems as it conceptualize in a really clear way the response of ecosystem’s biophysical processes to precipitation pulses.

For the second paper, in fact I have two that are closely related and belong to the same author. Baldocchi (2003) “Assessing the eddy covariance technique for evaluating carbon dioxide exchange rates of ecosystems: past, present and future” and Badocchi (2008) “’Breathing’ of the terrestrial biosphere: lessons learned from a global network of carbon dioxide flux measurement systems”. I think these are a couple of “must read” papers for everyone working with ecosystems fluxes (not only carbon fluxes).

What do you do for fun (apart from ecohydrology)?
What I like the most is to spent time with my two kids, but when I have time, I also enjoy jogging during the nights, stargazing, visiting natural places (field sites, national parks, national forests, etc.), playing pc games (GTA V, Starcraft II, etc.) and watching sports (Football and Futbol).
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