Assessment of watershed health, integrating environmental, social, and climate change criteria into a fuzzy logic framework.

Spatio-temporal analyses of environmental and social criteria in the context of climate change, facilitate understanding of how historical and current conditions have influenced watershed health. Previous studies have analyzed watershed health, but very few have integrated fuzzy logic with the CRITIC method (Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation), which enables us to explore alternatives to improve watershed performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in watershed health through historical and projected climate change scenario in the tropical Santa Cruz watershed in Aquismón, S.

Historical and projected changes in hydrological and sediment connectivity under climate change in a tropical catchment of Mexico.

Hydrological and erosion dynamics are prone to change due to natural factors, human activities, or climate change. These changes are mainly related to modifications of land use and cover and can be assessed through the concept of connectivity, which analyzes how the spatial distribution of the elements facilitates runoff and sediment transport. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in hydrological and sediment connectivity over 42 years and projected under a climate change scenario in the tropical Santa Cruz catchment in Aquismón, S.

Connectivity and hydrological efficiency dynamics at active volcanoes, Mexico.

Connectivity is an emergent property that describes how complex topography favors or impedes sediment transfer processes. In active volcanic areas, high connectivity may lead to extremely efficient processes, such as lahars. The aim of the present study is to examine the behavior (activation-deactivation) of sub-basins affected by volcanic and anthropogenic processes by studying the changes in connectivity and hydrological efficiency.

Changes in connectivity and hydrological efficiency following wildland fires in Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico.

Fire modifies soil surface, and hence soil hydrological properties change after wildland fires. High fire severity causes partial or total removal of vegetation, reduction of soil aggregate stability and increased water repellency, which are associated with high runoff and erosion. The spatial connection among these runoff sources is an important factor to consider when evaluating fire-induced changes on hillslope and catchment hydrology, as fire generates connected areas of bare soil, which may increase hydrological connectivity and hence post-fire runoff and erosion.