Towards Science-Based Watershed Management with Minimal Environmental Impacts
What is the gap?
While aiming to support resource use, watershed management practices have often resulted in unintended environmental impacts. For example, stump harvesting for biomass production in Northern Europe is believed to increase the transport of harmful solutes such as methyl mercury. Similarly, wetland drainage in North America, driven by agricultural intensification, is linked to higher risks of lake eutrophication and more frequent droughts and floods. These examples reflect a broader challenge: how can we enhance forest biomass production and agricultural productivity while minimizing negative impacts on water quality and ecosystem health? Our research group works to address this gap by developing science-based tools and knowledge that help balance resource development with environmental protection in watershed management.
Research Subjects
- Groundwater Ecohydrology
- Hydro-geological Engineering
- Watershed Management
- Applied Hydro-geochemistry
- Groundwater - Surfacewater & Land Interaction
- Water Resources Engineering
- Statistical Machine Learning
- Functional Data Analysis
How we make an Impact?
The HydroGeoScience for Watershed Management Laboratory works to advance quantitative understanding of how water and solutes move through both shallow and deep parts of the Earth. We investigate how these transport processes are influenced by land development and climate variability. This knowledge is essential for developing science-based watershed management strategies—particularly for identifying areas where intensive land use can take place with minimal environmental impact on local and regional ecosystems. To support this work, we also develop innovative, physics-informed statistical and machine learning models that use large datasets to detect key patterns and processes in watershed systems. Through this approach, we provide the tools and knowledge needed to support effective, sustainable watershed management.
NSERC subjects
- 4504 Groundwater
- 1007 Water Resources and Supply
- 1501 Water Quality
- 4501 Hydrogeochemistry
- 1006 Hydrologic Engineering
- 2203 Modeling, Simulation
Our Ongoing Research Topics
II. How does the chemistry of rainwater change before it reaches the stream?
The chemistry of rainwater evolves as it travels through the watershed, depending on the flow pathways it follows and the duration of its contact with various solute sources in the soil and subsurface. Our laboratory integrates hydrologic transport models (developed in our first research area) with geochemical algorithms to investigate how water chemistry changes between rainfall and streamflow. This approach helps us better understand the link between water movement and biogeochemical transformations within the landscape.
III. How Do Forest, mining, and agricultural developments impact water pathways and stream water quality and quantity?
Forestry, mining, and agricultural land developments can alter the timing and pathways of water movement within watersheds, ultimately affecting stream water quality and quantity. These impacts may be further intensified by climate variability. Our laboratory investigates the combined effects of land-use practices and climate variability on water flow pathways and their downstream consequences for streamflow quantity and water quality.
IV. Where can land developments be safely located to minimize water quality and quantity impacts under a changing climate?
Insights from our research on water flow pathways, solute transport, and the impacts of land-use and climate variability (Research Areas I, II, and III) inform science-based watershed management decisions. Our laboratory develops decision-support tools to identify areas that are either vulnerable to, or suitable for, intensive forestry, mining, and agricultural practices. These tools help guide the placement of land developments in ways that minimize negative impacts on stream water quality and quantity, even under changing climate conditions.
