Tropical Forest Hydrology

Kumagai, T. and Kanamori, H. and Chappell, N.A. (2025) Tropical Forest Hydrology. In: Forest Hydrology : Processes, Management and Assessment. CAB International, pp. 143-159. ISBN 9781800625235

Abstract

The consequences of land-use and climate change in tropical forest regions are considered among the greatest environmental concerns for the survival of the human population today and include increases in stream flow and flood frequency, loss of soils, changes in nutrient fluxes, warmer and drier climates and concomitant hydrological ecosystem services at the local scale. To tackle all aspects of these hydrological problems, we have broad recognition and tacit acceptance that progress on these complex issues benefits from fundamental pieces of knowledge on all of the hydrological components in various types of tropical forests and synthesizing them in terms of the global implications. Therefore, this chapter’s main objective is to provide a pan-tropical perspective on tropical forest hydrology.