Rehydrating landscapes: understanding how it works and why

Across Australia the water cycle is broken. Extreme events, hot days, floods, droughts have all increased. The pattern and nature of rainfall has changed. Particularly of the winter rain. We learnt what has caused this change, and it is not Greenhouse Gases, it is related to how water is held on the land which causes the loss of the small or local water cycle. This directly relates to how we have managed agricultural land in the last 30 years. The science of landscape hydration and the process of reversal was discussed. Particular attention was paid to the process of the impact of biology on the intensity and amount of rain.

Landscape rehydration has occurred both here and around the world. Lessons from these examples are presented with particularly regard to their biogeomorphological impact on hydration