Ecohydrology Bearings—Invited Commentary

Socio-ecohydrology and the urban water challenge

  1. D. E. Pataki1,2,*,
  2. C. G. Boone3,
  3. T. S. Hogue4,
  4. G. D. Jenerette5,
  5. J. P. McFadden6,
  6. S. Pincetl7

Article first published online: 11 MAR 2011

DOI: 10.1002/eco.209

Issue

Ecohydrology

Ecohydrology

Special Issue: Forest Ecohydrological Processes in a Changing Environment

Volume 4, Issue 2, pages 341–347, March 2011

Additional Information

How to Cite

Pataki, D. E., Boone, C. G., Hogue, T. S., Jenerette, G. D., McFadden, J. P. and Pincetl, S. (2011), Socio-ecohydrology and the urban water challenge. Ecohydrol., 4: 341–347. doi: 10.1002/eco.209

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

  2. 2

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

  3. 3

    School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

  5. 5

    Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA

  6. 6

    Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA

  7. 7

    Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

*Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 25 MAR 2011
  2. Article first published online: 11 MAR 2011
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 4 FEB 2011
  4. Manuscript Received: 15 NOV 2010

Funded by

  • NSF. Grant Number: BCS 0948914

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Keywords:

  • forest;
  • water;
  • supply;
  • quality;
  • flood control;
  • drought;
  • management;
  • Europe

Abstract

Urban water systems are highly engineered. However, hydrology and ecology are still closely linked in semi-arid urban ecosystems in which surface characteristics, vegetation, and water flows are all highly transformed. Although these systems are human-dominated, there are many uncertainties in the water budgets of semi-arid cities, because evapotranspiration, runoff, groundwater recharge, and leakage are poorly constrained. Decision-making, governance, and socioeconomic factors play important roles in determining urban hydrologic budgets. We offer a framework to integrate these factors in studies that combine biophysical and social dimensions of the urban water system using the example of western US cities, which are facing critical issues in water supply and demand, and which can benefit from a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that determine water consumption, distribution and availability. Because of the severity of the water crisis in the western US, and the biophysical, institutional, and cultural barriers to developing and implementing new water management practices, this region provides useful lessons for addressing water challenges in other regions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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