There has been increasing concern about the potential impacts of climate change on catchment hydrology and streamflow. While there is a substantial body of research addressing the hydrologic effects of climate change, much of this work does not address the additional effects of climate-driven land-cover change. This presentation presents the results of research conducted in the Bridge River catchment in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, where glacier retreat has exposed a lake and vegetation has been expanding over areas previously covered by the glacier. Field studies, historical air photos and remotely sensed data are used to document and model historic land cover changes and to project future changes under climate scenarios. The land-cover projections are used to parameterize a hydrologic model to explore the cumulative effects of climate and land-cover change on streamflow.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Zoom Webinar. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.