211-361 Hydrology and Catchment Management

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Objectives:

On completion of this subject, students should: have a detailed understanding of the hydrologic cycle in the forest, and its impact on society; be familiar with the possible changes in water values that can be changed by forest management, and the costs and benefits of such change to society; be aware of the hydrologic, social, political, and economic factors involved in matters of catchment management.

Content:

The basic hydrologic cycle and an estimation of component flows. Role of surface and groundwater runoff, evaporation, and other hydrologic losses and their impact on forest streamflows. Cumulative hydrologic effects and relation between flows in small streams and flows in larger streams. Methods of hydrologic study including multiple catchment projects and other approaches. Impact of long-term climatic change on forest water values, including introduction to Hurst effect, crossing theory, and fractional Brownian variation. Can climate change be defined? Detailed case studies of one or more catchment management problems in South-eastern Australia. Consideration of the technical, social, economic, and political aspects involved.

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