Ecohydrology in the Anthropocene: challenges and opportunities in India

Abstract:

Land-use and land-cover change (LULC) and blue-water transformations (abstraction of water from rivers and more recently, ground-water) have been both intensive and extensive in India. These in combination with other dimensions of global change including climate change and climate variability, proliferation of alien and invasive species and urbanization have potentially generated complex responses from socio-ecological systems. In addition, the absence of long-term and proper gauging records and long-term monitoring sites have retarded ecohydrologic research.

The field of ecohydrology and its relevance for policy and management knowledge gaps needs urgent articulation for diverse audiences.  I draw upon the insights from the limited ecohydrological work in India to illustrate the data and methodological challenges in understanding ecohydrologic change at various spatial and temporal scales. These include the impact of LULC on head-water catchments, the increasing influence of more intense rains, ecological flow implications of operations of large irrigation dams and small hydro-electric dams, impact of upstream abstraction on estuarine ecosystems, and the eco-physiological response of Himalayan forests to climate variability and climate change. I will also illustrate the broader canvas of uncertainty in hydro-climatology in the context of the inability of climate models to simulate historical trends. Finally, I will prioritize gaps in training, knowledge and data that we urgently need to address if ecohydrology in India has to make meaningful contribution to science and society.