Methods for conserving water in agriculture and urban areas will become even more important as our world population increases. More efficient use of water for irrigating crops and landscaping is critical in helping to manage increasing demands placed on this finite resource. SNR researchers are working on water conservation by:

• studying windbreaks and how  shelterbelts affects crop water use
• using stable isotopes to understand the ecohydrology of woody species expansion in semi-arid grasslands
• measuring and modeling evapotranspiration in agricultural, grassland, forest, wetland, lake, and riparian ecosystems to balance "water budgets"
• development of broad-spectrum stress-tolerant plants
• evaluating the effects of invasive species on evapotranspiration in riparian zones