Tropical rainforests, such as those in Southeast Asia, are key hydrological environments. They impact on the climate at local and regional scales, they sometimes have distinct runoff pathways, and certainly have particular sensitivities to disturbance by commercial forestry activities. The complexity and harshness of the environment means that specialist field and modelling technologies are required to study tropical forest hydrology. Our collaborative work seeks to add to knowledge of climate-hydrology interactions in the humid tropics, tropical runoff pathways and the ways that tropical forestry impacts on water, nutrient and sediment systems. We use tracer and high-frequency sampling in the field, and a range of data-based and conceptual modelling techniques in the laboratory.
See Nick Chappell's Research web pages by clicking HERE

Some recent references

Chappell, N.A., and Sherlock, M.D.* 2005. Contrasting flow pathways within tropical forest slopes of Ultisol soil. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 30, 735-753.

Chappell, N.A. 2005. Water pathways in humid forests: myths vs observations. Suiri Kagaku, 48(6), 32-46.

Chappell, N.A., Douglas, I. †, Hanapi, J.M., † and Tych, W. 2004. Source of suspended-sediment within a tropical catchment recovering from selective logging. Hydrological Processes, 18, 685-701.

Boochabun, K.†, Tych, W., Chappell, N.A., Carling P.A.†, Lorsirirat K.†, and Pa-Obsaeng, S.† 2004. Statistical modelling of rainfall and river flow in Thailand. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 64, 503-515.

Chappell, Tych, W., Yusop, Z. † N.A. Rahim †, and Kasran, B. † 2004. Spatially-significant effects of selective tropical forestry on water, nutrient and sediment flows: a modelling-supported review. In Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics, Bonell M. and Bruijnzeel, L.A. (Eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. p 513-532.

Chappell, N.A., Bidin, K.*, Sherlock, M.D.*, and Lancaster, J.W.* 2004. Parsimonious spatial representation of tropical soils within dynamic, rainfall-runoff models. In Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics, Bonell M. and Bruijnzeel, L.A. (Eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. p 756-769.

Thang H.C.† and Chappell, N.A. 2004. Minimising the hydrological impact of forest harvesting in Malaysia's rain forests In Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics, Bonell M. and Bruijnzeel, L.A. (Eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. p 852-865.

Bidin, K.*, and Chappell, N.A. 2004. Sub-canopy rainfall and wet-canopy evaporation in a selectively-logged rainforest, Sabah, Malaysia. In Water: Forestry and Landuse Perspectives, A. R. Nik (Ed), IHP-VI Technical Document in Hydrology No. 70, Paris, UNESCO. p69-85.

Contact: Nick Chappell