Selected publications

The authors used an isotope-based ecohydrologic model to assess the hydrological impacts of “re-wilding” in the Scottish Highlands by increasing Scots Pine forests for biodiversity conservation. They found forests will “use” more water through evapotranspiration which may initially decrease summer low flows and summer floods, though a natural hydrological regime will be restored after ~100 years.

The authors monitored and modelled feedbacks in the soil–plant-atmosphere continuum to the drought summer 2018 and the following 2 years. The isotope-aided model EcH2O-iso was applied to forest and grassland in a lowland, groundwater-dominated catchment. Such differences in ecohydrological feedbacks to drought in contrasting soil-vegetation units provide insights into Critical Zone water cycling. 

Urban green space is of great importance for sustainable water management and heat reduction in cities. Using field measurements and a highly advanced ecohydrological model, researchers have investigated how water pathways differ depending on vegetation type. The result: trees potentially provide the strongest cooling effect, while grass promotes more groundwater recharge.

The authors investigated the thermal properties of Tibetan lakes during the ice-covered season. They revealed that an extremely large amount of solar radiation penetrated the highly transparent ice cover. As a result, lakes fully mix under ice and get heated up to >6°C. The accumulated heat makes a crucial contribution to ice cover melt.

In recirculating flumes, the authors investigated the degradation of micropollutants from treated wastewater along specific subsurface flow paths in triangular bedforms. Shallow subsurface flow fields and small-scale heterogeneity of the microbial community are major controlling factors for the transformation of micropollutants in river sediments.

In a lab study it was tested if light pollution affects thyroid hormones in Eurasian perch. The results show first signs of endocrine disruption in thyroid metabolism after a relatively short exposure of two weeks under high-intensity streetlight conditions. Misbalanced thyroidal status can have serious implications for metabolic rates as well as developmental and reproductive processes.

The authors integrated hydrometric and isotope data to understand how droughts affect ecohydrological partitioning, hydrological connectivity and streamflow generation at the catchment scale. Groundwater recharge was lower under forest than grassland and enhanced in restored wetlands. Complex patterns of connectivity affect in-stream solute transport and interactions between land- and riverscapes.

The authors used the IGB model EcH2O-iso with isotope tracers to quantify how different vegetation communities in lowland German catchments partition rainfall into evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge. This showed that forests account for greater water losses to the atmosphere and reduced recharge. Future losses under climate change can be optimised by species selection and management.