People: Diego Riveros-Iregui, Elizabeth Anne Shank, Will Larsen, Sarah May Yannarell, Alexi Van Ess, Jia Hu, Alex Beebe, Courtney Price, Caroline MacVicar, and Katarzyna M. Dubiel
The goal of this project is to understand the operation of the hydrological cycle in San Cristobal Island, including the role of the rain, fog, plants, ground water storage, and weathering processes that lead to mineralogical change of the rock and soil formation through the climatic gradient given by changes in the elevation.
Our specific objectives are to
- Quantify the relative contributions of rain and fog to the hydrological cycle of San Cristobal,
- Evaluate the path of the water from precipitation to infiltration and storage of the island’s groundwater,
- Quantify the amount of precipitation available for human consumption,
- Establish the type of water used by the plants to throw an elevation gradient by using stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen,
- Measure and quantify the storage of water in the soil through a gradient of elevation,
- Determine the mineralogical composition of the soil and its relationship with different microclimatic zones of the island, and
- Describe the hydraulic properties of soils across elevation gradient
Many studies worldwide highlight the importance of fog as a critical factor in ecosystem function, particularly during the dry season. However, we do not know the mechanisms that control plant-water-soil interactions on tropical islands.
Some of the expected results of our work are
- An estimation of the relative contributions of precipitation vs. fog on plant ecophysiological function along elevation gradients,
- A projection of what would happen to plants in very humid areas if fog disappears,
- Information about rain, fog, and groundwater interactions,
- A chemical analysis of water, plant, and soil samples, and
- New research collaborations with scientists affiliated with the GSC, involving Ecuadorian entities
Read publications resulting from this project:
- Larsen, W., Liu, X-M., & Riveros-Iregui, D.A., (2021) Rare earth element behavior in springs and streams on a basaltic island: San Cristóbal, Galápagos. Applied Geochemistry 131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2021.105004
- Schoenborn, A.A., Yannarell, S.M., MacVicar, C.T., Barriga-Medina, N.N., Bonham, K.S., Leon-Reyes, A., Riveros-Iregui, D.A., Klepac-Ceraj, V., & Shank, E.A. (2023) Microclimate is a strong predictor of the native and invasive plant-associated microbiota on San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos Archipelago. Environmental Microbiology 25(8), 1377-1392. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16361
Read a story about researcher Will Larsen’s experience working on this project in the Galapagos.