9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Room 62 (Lower level)

Exploring Reciprocal Interactions Between Climate, Groundwater and Land Cover Decisions in Agricultural Areas

Moira Zellner and Dean Massey
University of Illinois at Chicago
Federico Bert
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Guillermo Podesta
University of Miami

We present a simple spatially-explicit model (HydroMan) coupling human and hydrological processes to explore the reciprocal relationships between groundwater and land cover in flat agricultural landscapes. HydroMan represents the main hydrological and planting processes that influence land-water relationships. The model reproduced the general behavior of established hydrological models and data. We used the validated model to assess how different land covers influence groundwater dynamics in changing climate. Some strategies were distinctly superior to others, but presented tradeoffs between maintaining appropriate water levels and crop losses. Future participatory modeling with farmers will refine decision-making strategies to reduce flooding and drought risks.

Systems Modeling Approaches for Ecotoxicology

Cheryl Murphy
Michigan State University
Valery Forbes
University of Minnesota
Roger Nisbet
University of California, Santa Barbara
Chris Salice
Towson University

We report on our progress developing modeling approaches that can quantitatively link responses to toxic chemicals and other stressors from the molecular level, through effects on physiological energetics, to organism performance, population dynamics, and ecosystem service delivery. The overall aims of our multidisciplinary collaboration are to demonstrate proof of concept and develop, not only example models, but a general framework for model development, evaluation, and communication that can be applied to different environmental management scenarios.