Environmental Hydrology

Abstract Environmental hydrology is the component of water science that focuses on the hydrological cycle with an emphasis on its interface with humans and other organisms. Most studies in environmental hydrology deal with ecohydrology, environmental flows or instream flow requirements, and water quality/quantity analysis and modeling. Ecohydrology deals with interactions between ecosystems and the hydrological cycle at different spatiotemporal scales. Historically, most ecohydrological studies focused on the role of vegetation within the hydrologic cycle (e.g., forest hydrology) with the objective of better quantifying its impact (e.g., timber harvesting) on soil water content, evapotranspiration rates, or rainfall interception.Instream flow needsgenerally refer to the amount of water or flow that is required to maintain ecological functions within a river. Water quality variations in rivers depend on water quantity and movement as well as exchange processes within the river. As an example, water temperature is discussed in greater details. Both deterministic and statistical water temperature models are briefly described.