Abstract:
Disturbance or elimination of vegetation mantle by man has introduced a new agent capable of upsetting an ecosystem, in general and hydrological cycle in particular.
It has posed a latent if not chronic environmental problem ever since
agriculture became the dominant mode of subsistance in parts of the old world,
almost 10 millenia ago. Cultivation and the pressures of livestock grazing marked
the first serious impact of man on hydrological cycle, and thus opened a Pandora's
Box of complications in regard to the balance of vegetation cover, soil mantle and
runoff.
Until the 19th century A.D. the hydrological crisis provoked by man were limited and essentially confined to parts of Europe and America. After the establishment of International Union of Forest Organisation, forest influences on hydrological parameters have been main topics of discussion globlly. Consequently, 6 new branch of hydrology has emerged, viz., "forest hydrology" which deals with the effects of forests and associated wildland vegetation on water cycle, including the effect on erosion and water quality.
The forest hydrology is still in its infancy stage which is developing rapidly.
Student persuing a career in forest and wildland resources soon learns that no
natural science is more fundamental to the art of water and land management than hydrology.
