The Loch Vale Watershed is located in Rocky Mountain National
Park. Long-term ecological research and monitoring since 1982 addresses
watershed-scale ecosystem processes, particularly as they respond
to atmospheric deposition and climate variability. Monitoring of
meteorological, hydrologic, and water quality parameters enable
us to use long-term trends to distinguish natural from human-caused
disturbances. Research into snow distribution, hydrologic flowpaths,
vegetation responses to N deposition, isotopic transformations of
N by forest and soil processes, trace metals, and aquatic ecological
responses to disturbance enable us to understand processes that
influence high elevation ecosystems.
The Loch Vale Watershed long-term ecological research and monitoring
project is operated by the Biological Research Division of the US
Geological Survey. |
