Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The dryland environment
- Part II The meteorological background
- Part III The climatic environment of drylands
- 9 Defining aridity: the classification and character of dryland climates
- 10 Desert microclimate
- 11 Precipitation in the drylands
- 12 Hydrologic processes in the drylands
- 13 Desert winds and dust
- Part IV The earth’s drylands
- Part V Life and change in the dryland regions
- Index
- References
12 - Hydrologic processes in the drylands
from Part III - The climatic environment of drylands
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2011
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The dryland environment
- Part II The meteorological background
- Part III The climatic environment of drylands
- 9 Defining aridity: the classification and character of dryland climates
- 10 Desert microclimate
- 11 Precipitation in the drylands
- 12 Hydrologic processes in the drylands
- 13 Desert winds and dust
- Part IV The earth’s drylands
- Part V Life and change in the dryland regions
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Compared with humid environments, relatively little is known about surface hydrological processes in dryland regions. Over the last decade or so there has been a broad effort to improve our understanding of runoff and other hydrologic aspects of drylands (Wheater et al. 2007). Some generally accepted tenets, such as the absence of groundwater recharge, are being contradicted by new studies (Scanlon et al. 2006). Much of this is in the context of research in a new interdisciplinary area called ecohydrology (Newman et al. 2006a). Consequently, the hydrologic processes associated with precipitation events are fairly well understood (Weltzin et al. 2003). Much less is understood about the processes that influence the rate of soil moisture change between precipitation events.
Much has been learned about the impact of the characteristics of rainfall on surface hydrological processes and how surface vegetation cover influences these relationships. This chapter goes into detail on these concepts, because they are critical in understanding how climate translates into water availability (or the lack of it) in dryland regions and in projecting the impact of future climate change.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Dryland Climatology , pp. 212 - 229Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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