Senior Researcher, Dep. Ciencias del Medio Natural Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

Speech Title: Forests, soil, water, and their linkages through the biosphere

Abstract: Hundreds of people around the world suffer from the inadequate access and use of water. Excessive water use, pollution and climate change are an increasingly risk for many regions around the world. Better water management is critically needed, but only by understanding the science behind watery cycles from global to local scales, current and future societal needs for reliable water availability will be covered. Forests play a key role in water cycles at many levels, from being primary water consumers to regulate water flows and fixing and improving soil water retention rates or intercepting rainfall, among other ecosystem services. The interactions between forests, soil and water are then of paramount importance not only for planning water management in forest areas, but also for agricultural and urban areas. In this talk the main interactions between forests, soil and water at global scales will be discussed, as well as their implications for water supply at local level. In addition, some of the effects of forest management on the water cycle will be reviewed, mentioning the classical works but also some new findings that are pointing more than ever to the need for a holistic management of forests and water in connection to the multiple ecosystem services provided by forests.