Analysis and modeling of soil processes in disturbed and undisturbed tropical ecosystems in Southern Ecuador

DFG FOR 816 - HU 636/14-1

Von 02/2007 bis 03/2012

Projektleiter: Bernd Huwe
Mitarbeiter: Melania Quizhpe, Folkert Bauer, Christian Peter Brandstetter

Soil water dynamics is of uppermost importance for ecosystem functioning. It has substantial impact e.g. on turnover, distribution, and availability of nutrients, mechanical soil properties, and triggering of landslides. The proposal aims at the experimental analysis and modelling of water, solute, heat and information fluxes in the soil compartment of disturbed and undisturbed tropical ecosystems in Southern Ecuador. The field program comprises soil hydrological measurements, tracer studies and geoelectric measurements. Disturbance effects include forest thinning, land use changes and landslides. Experimental as well as model based analyses are conducted at the plot, hill slope and catchment scale. Besides matter and energy fluxes, transformation of information and complexity measures of time series in different ecosystem compartments are of special interest. Modelling is mainly conducted by deterministic approaches. To account for spatial variability hydrological parameter fields are generated using spatial simulation techniques and pedotransfer functions. Models will be used for system analyses, flux determination, and analyses of ecosystem experiments. Soil hydrological models, regional hydrological models an atmospheric models are compared and evaluated for overlapping scale ranges.