Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2012CO260B

Structural and Functional Controls of Tree Transpiration in Front Range Urban Forests

Institute: Colorado
Year Established: 2012 Start Date: 2012-03-01 End Date: 2013-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $2,400

Principal Investigators: David Cooper

Project Summary: Most Colorado cities and towns pride themselves on their trees, which provide many critical ecological and aesthetic benefits1. Urban water use by turfgrass has been extensively studied2-5, but we know very little about patterns and processes of water use for urban forests. Urban forests are structurally complex and compositionally diverse, supporting trees widely differing in age, size and basic functional characteristics. How these factors influence basic ecohydrological processes and urban water budgets remains poorly understood, particularly for Front Range urban forests.