Afforestation in Pyrenees

A group at the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior deInvestigaciones Científicas  http://www.ipe.csic.es/ in Spain are combining  RHESSys and field measurement to investigate how recolonization of pasture by forests in the uplands might influence water availability and sediment production…a complicated setting with some new grasslands/pasture in the low elevations and increasing forest in the upland.  Streamflow, groundwater and soil measurements show that changes are due not only to vegetation characteristics (greater transpiration capacity by trees relative to grass) but also due to long term changes in soil drainage and storage characteristics …some pictures from a field site visit this week…