ABSTRACT
I believe that James Gosz has done an excellent job of outlining and discussing some of the major problems associated with the interactions between land use, streamflow, and water quality. These are critical relationships for management of landscapes, and the problem of reduced streamflow in the Southwestern United States is of particular importance. Dr. Gosz has carefully documented the complexities that are involved in these ecological relationships, and has shown the importance of understanding the role of the terrestrial ecosystem in evaluating and predicting changes in streamflow and water quality. Data such as those presented for the Tesuque Watersheds of New Mexico are of fundamental importance in the development of sound land management proposals. In my discussion of Dr. Gosz’s paper, I would like to reemphasize some of the points he made, provide some elaboration on the importance of an in-depth understanding of the linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and briefly touch on the costs associated with this type of ecosystem research.
