Alejandra StehrUniversity of Concepción · Faculty of Engineering
Alejandra Stehr
Doctor en Ciencias Ambientales
About
44
Publications
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513
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Additional affiliations
January 2016 - February 2022
January 2005 - December 2015
Publications
Publications (44)
Flash floods, produced by heavy seasonal rainfall and characterized by high speeds and destructive power, are among the most devastating natural phenomena and are capable of causing great destruction in very little time. In the absence of hydrological data, morphometric characterization can provide important information on preventive measures again...
The growth of traditional crops could be a primary resource for adapting to climate change and strengthening agrosystems’ resilience. However, these crops tend to be replaced by non-traditional crops with higher productivity, higher market values, and higher short-term income. In this context, smallholders face trade-offs between maximizing short-t...
This paper reviews the current knowledge of hydrological processes in Chilean temperate forests which extend along western South America from latitude 29° S to 56° S. This geographic region includes a diverse range of natural and planted forests and a broad sweep of vegetation, edaphic, topographic, geologic, and climatic settings which create a un...
As precipitation is a fundamental component of the global hydrological cycle that governs water resource distribution, the understanding of its temporal and spatial behavior is of great interest, and exact estimates of it are crucial in multiple lines of research. Meteorological data provide input for hydroclimatic models and predictions, which gen...
Most water bodies are currently used as receptors for pollutants coming mainly from the industrial and domestic sectors. The Biobío river is subjected to multiple anthropogenic pressures such as industrial water supply, drinking water, hydroelectric power generation, agriculture, and the final receptor body of a large amount of industrial and urban...
Water resources face an unparalleled confluence of pressures, with agriculture and urban growth as the most relevant human-related stressors. In this context, methodologies using a Nexus framework seem to be suitable to address these challenges. However, the urban sector has been commonly ignored in the Nexus literature. We propose a Nexus framewor...
In this study, the SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) hydrological model is implemented to determine the effect of climate change on various hydrological components in two basins located in the foothills of the Andes: the Quino and Muco river basins. The water cycle is analyzed by comparing the model results to climatic data observed in the past (19...
In this study, the SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) hydrological model is implemented to determine the effect of climate change on various hydrological components in two basins located in the foothills of the Andes: the Quino and Muco river basins. The water cycle is analyzed by comparing the model results to climatic data observed in the past (19...
Adapting to new climate conditions will require an intricate mix of knowledge, planning, coordination, and foresight. There is increasing sectoral evidence on the implementation of successful adaptation actions. However, the success of these actions when we consider the interdependencies among sectors remains debatable. This paper aims to assess wh...
Implementing disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation and mitigation (CCA/M), and sustainable development are key to increasing community resilience to pressing climate change risks. Barriers to grassroots implementation of national and international policies are inexorably linked to local contexts and in-depth understanding is cruc...
Las pérdidas económicas de los desastres en las últimas décadas se han incrementado como resultado del desarrollo económico y probablemente con el aumento del número de eventos meteorológicos extremos (Haer, 2017). En tal sentido, los sistemas de alerta temprana son una herramienta para fortalecer los niveles de preparación vinculados a la gestión...
Several impacts over ecosystem services have been produced by land use/cover changes, placing it as one of the main factors driving global environmental change. In the present study, the SWAT model was used to assess the effect of land use/cover changes on the hydrology response in the Andalien river basin from the south-central zone of Chile. Thre...
Understanding past climate variability is important for obtaining better predictions of future changes. Documentary records are high temporal resolution proxies that can be used to reconstruct aspects of the climate, such as precipitation. Vicuña Mackenna developed a compilation of historical climatic events between the 16th and 19th centuries usin...
Andean watersheds present important snowfall accumulation mainly during the
winter, which melts during the spring and part of the summer. The effect of
snowmelt on the water balance can be critical to sustain agriculture
activities, hydropower generation, urban water supplies and wildlife. In
Chile, 25 % of the territory between the region of Valpa...
Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable economic sectors to the impacts of climate change, specifically those related with expected changes in water availability. By using a hydro-economic model, this study assesses the distributional impacts of climate change, considering the geographical location of each farmer’s community and the spatial alloc...
This study presents the main results of the project "Economic Evaluation of Climatic Change Impacts on Water Resources at River Basin Scale". We evaluate the economic consequences of climate change at river basin scale using a hydro-economic model, which includes two water demand sectors: residential and agricultural. The main quantitative results...
A global level more than half of the water generated through the process of runoff is used by man. In south-central Chile the watersheds have been subjected to intensive processes of land use changes, including expansion of forest plantations with exotic species. This study evaluates the hydrological effects of future scenarios for forest expansion...
El aumento progresivo de la temperatura superficial del planeta, debido al calentamiento global, estaría modificando el régimen térmico de ríos y arroyos. Tal alteración en la temperatura del agua podría impactar diferencialmente la comunidad de invertebrados acuáticos. En Chile, se ha evidenciado que la temperatura del aire ha aumentado 0.25°C/déc...
Andean watersheds present important snowfall accumulation mainly during the winter which is later melted during spring and part of the summer. The effect of snowmelt on the water balance can be critical to sustain agriculture activities, hydropower generation, urban water supply and wildlife. In Chile 25 % of the territory between the Valparaiso an...
Globally, the river temperatures is a research subject, but the spatio-temporal variability of various river systems is still limited and unknown in some cases. This study aimed to compare the natural thermal regime of Andean river ecosystems with different riparian vegetation (steppe and Nothofagus dombeyi forest). The temperature of the sites was...
Globally, the river temperatures is a research subject, but the spatio-temporal va riability of various river systems is still limited and unknown in some cases. This study aimed to compare the natural thermal regime of Andean river ecosystems with different riparian vegetation (steppe and Nothofagus dombeyi forest). The temperature of the sites wa...
The diel variation of temperature in mesoscale river reaches (catchment area > 1000 km2) is analysed using concurrent measurements of water temperature and of those meteorological (incident short-wave radiation, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed variables) and hydraulic variables (streamflow, top width, channel slope and flow depth)...
Patagonia is commonly seen as an exceptionally pristine area because of its wildlife and practically unpolluted waters. However, during the twentieth century the burning of natural forests was one of the most important human activities in Northern Chilean Patagonia. Some estimations indicate that three million hectares were burned during the first...
Despite of the importance of temperature in the fluvial ecosystems, the knowledge of its spatial and temporal variability in Andean rivers is limited, thus it is necessary to clarify the relative importance of site-specific factors in controlling the temperature of rivers. The aim of this research was to characterize the thermal regime of five Ande...
Thermal behavior of Mediterranean Andean streams in South-Central Chile Despite of the importance of temperature in the fluvial ecosystems, the knowledge of the spatial and temporal variability in Andean rivers is limited being necessary to clarify the relative importance of site-specific factors in controlling the temperature of rivers. The aim of...
The finite volumes method is applied and the ultimate strategy is generalized to solve the advection-diffusion-reaction equation with variable parameters, in order to obtain results with negligible numeric diffusion. The model is verified through calculations with known analytical solutions, showing its capability to simulate diffusive and advectiv...
The finite volumes method is applied and the ultimate strategy is generalized to solve the advection-diffusion-reaction equation with variable parameters, in order to obtain results with negligible numeric diffusion. The model is verified through calculations with known analytical solutions, showing its capability to simulate diffusive and advectiv...
Experimental results on scour at a circular pier in compacted cohesive and non-cohesive sediments under the clear-water condition are presented. Experiments were conducted at the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory, University of Concepción, Chile. Three experimental series with different sediment mixtures, including cohesive and non-cohesive sediment...
LA cuenca del río Limarí ha experimentado un constante incremento en la superfcie de producción agrícola, lo que ha ocasionado alteraciones en el comportamiento de la oferta y demanda de los recursos hidricos, ademas esta cuenca se ve afectada por la variabilidad climatica (interabual y decadal) y cambio climatico. Para diseñar e implementar medida...
This paper presents a contingent valuation study concerning landscape impacts generated by the construction of one dam (Baker
1) of the HIDROAYSEN hydropower project located in the Chilean Patagonia. A survey was used to collect information about citizens’
opinions towards the hydropower project in four major cities in Chile. Specifically, a One-an...
During the past few years, a progressive worldwide change of the climatic conditions has been observed that has consequently brought increases in the frequency and severity of phenomena like floods and droughts. Thus, it is necessary to have tools for making informed decisions. One way to assess the effects of the climate change on the hydrology of...
A multidisciplinary approach is followed for analysis of the effect of changes in land use patterns on the hydrologic response of the Vergara watershed (4340 km2) located in central Chile. Probable future land use scenarios were generated using heuristic rules and logistic regression models, in order to identify and represent the main pressure on t...
A multidisciplinary approach is followed for analysis of the effect of changes in land use patterns on the hydrologic response of the Vergara watershed (4340 km<sup>2</sup>) located in central Chile. Probable future land use scenarios were generated using heuristic rules and logistic regression models, in order to identify and represent the main pr...
During the past few years, a progressive worldwide change of the climatic conditions has been observed that has consequently brought increases in the frequency and severity of phenomena like floods and droughts. Thus, it is necessary to have tools for making informed decisions. One way to assess the effects of the climate change on the hydrology of...
The focus is on the application of the SWAT model for the Lonquimay River basin (Central Chilean Andes), a small sub-basin of the Biobío, in which snow accumulation and snowmelt dynamics play an important role. In the absence of local measurements of snow coverage, remotely-sensed snow cover information (MODIS) was combined with discharge time seri...
The Biobío River basin is of high strategic importance for Chilean development, at both the regional and the national levels. For this reason, advances in the general understanding of, and in the capacity to describe and predict, in a spatially explicit way, the impact of climate and anthropogenic forcing on the hydrology of the Biobío basin are ur...
Over the last decades a progressive change in world-wide climatic conditions has been observed and described by the scientific community. Associated to these ongoing changes, reports on the devastating effects of floods and prolonged periods of droughts are increasingly brought to the attention of the public opinion. Also, for considerable parts of...
Projects
Projects (3)
Evaluar escenarios de inundaciones fluviales bajo un contexto de cambio climático y cambios de uso de suelo en cuencas del centro-Sur de Chile al año 2050, con el objeto de proponer criterios para una planificación urbana sostenible que incorpore el enfoque de infraestructura verde.
Research questions
What are the positive and negative impacts that resilience measures can have on vulnerable communities?
What are the key trade-offs to be made in order to increase resilience and render livelihoods more sustainable?
How effective are community-based soil-bioengineering techniques for reducing landslide risks?
Proyecto de Cooperación Universität St Gallen (Centro Latinoamericano-Suizo)-Universidad de Concepción (Centro en Ciencias Ambientales EULA-Chile) y Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia), 2017-2019.
Estimar mediante el método del balance de energía la acumulación y el derretimiento del manto nival en la cuenca alta del Río Malleco utilizando salidas meteorológicas del modelo WRF.
