Fall semester / 5 credits / Coursebook here
Spring semester / Projeter ensemble ENAC / Coursebook here
Open to Master and PhD students, 18 – 21 June 2024, ETHZ Hönggerberg and EPFL Valais Wallis – register here
Spring semester / Master
This course provides the theoretical basis for understanding and modeling the interactions between the hydrologic cycle, vegetation, soil, climate, and human society. This is key for designing proper management of soils, water resources, and terrestrial ecosystems especially in view of predicted land use changes and alteration of the hydrologic regime due to climate change. We will look at the dynamics of water, energy, carbon, and nutrient transport within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and we will introduce the tools necessary for their mathematical modelling. We will consider ecohydrological interactions from local to regional and global scales, as well as at daily to seasonal and annual time scales. The focus on multiple spatio-temporal scales will allow us to introduce a number of mathematical models, from analytical derivations to plot and catchment scale deterministic and stochastic approaches as well as global scale terrestrial biosphere models. We will conclude by presenting topical issues in ecohydrological research and applications, with particular focus on agricultural land use, climate regulation, food security, and environmental sustainability.