Ecohydrology of Alpine Regions

Alpine regions are known as the world’s water towers due to the large amount of water that they provide to local and downstream populations and ecosystems. The water-related ecosystem services that alpine ecosystems provide are strongly affected by vegetation. Thus, understanding the water and energy fluxes in the alpine soil-plant-atmosphere continuum is crucial to achieve sustainable management of water resources and climatic resilience in alpine regions. In this chapter, we highlight key ecohydrological studies in alpine regions and identify key knowledge gaps that hamper the management of high-mountain water resources.