The proposed research will focus on processes which are sensitive to changes in long-term patterns of temperature and precipitation, and at the same time are difficult to quantify, thus complicating the predictions of hydrological responses of forest catchments to changing climate. Specific attention will be paid to the processes accompanied by phase transitions, for which the expected changes in thermal regime are of key importance, namely: (i) soil freezing–thawing phenomena and snowmelt, (ii) evapotranspiration, (iii) interception and occult precipitation. In terms of methodology, the project will combine hydroclimatological monitoring and physicallybased numerical modeling. Catchment water balance will be studied using the concept of three levels of hydrological separation – at the canopy level, at the soil surface, and at the soil–bedrock interface. |
