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Eco-Hydrology with Jagdish Krishnaswamy

Jagdish Krishnaswamy explores the science that connects hydrology, ecology, and the people who depend on India’s rivers and landscapes.

Dec 9, 2025

How do forests shape our water security? Why do rivers need to flow? And what happens to fish, turtles and gharials when dams shut off water?

In this episode, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Jagdish Krishnaswamy to explore the science that connects hydrology, ecology, and the people who depend on India’s rivers and landscapes. From the Western Ghats to the Himalayas, from springs to large reservoirs, this episode dives into decades of pioneering field research, where data collection meets cutting-edge science.

 



In this episode, they further discuss the complex “sponge” effect of forests in the Western Ghats and how exotic plantations impact water infiltration. They travel to the Eastern Himalayas to understand the drying of springs and the nuances of restoration beyond simple tree planting. The conversation also highlights the concept of “Hungry Water,” the critical importance of sediment, and the struggle for survival of the Gharial in the face of flow alterations.

Suggested Readings:

  1. Jagdish Krishnaswamy: University Website, Google Scholar
  2. M.O. Anand, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Ajith Kumar, Archana Bali. Sustaining biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes in the Western Ghats: Remnant forests matter. Biological Conservation. Volume 143, Issue 10.
  3. Bruijnzeel, L. A. (2004). Hydrological functions of tropical forests: Not seeing the soil for the trees? Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 104(1), 185–228.
  4. Jumani, S., Rao, S., Kelkar, N., Machado, S., Krishnaswamy, J., & Vaidyanathan, S. (2018). Fish community responses to stream flow alterations and habitat modifications by small hydropower projects in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 28(5), 1125–1139.
  5. Jumani, S., Deitch, M. J., Valle, D., Machado, S., Lecours, V., Kaplan, D., Krishnaswamy, J., & Howard, J. (2022). A new index to quantify longitudinal river fragmentation: Conservation and management implications. Ecological Indicators, 136, 108680.
  6. Krishnaswamy, J., Lavine, M., Richter, D. D., & Korfmacher, K. (2001). Dynamic modeling of long-term sedimentation in the Yadkin River basin. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 37(1), 105–119.
  7. Hamel, P., Riveros-Iregui, D., Ballari, D., Browning, T., Célleri, R., Chandler, D., Chun, K. P., Destouni, G., Jacobs, S., Jasechko, S., Johnson, M., Krishnaswamy, J., Poca, M., Pompeu, P. V., & Rocha, H. (2020). Watershed services in the humid tropics: Opportunities from recent advances in ecohydrology. Ecohydrology, 13(7), e1921.
  8. Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Michael Bonell, Basappa Venkatesh, Bekal K. Purandara, K.N. Rakesh, Sharachchandra Lele, M.C. Kiran, Veerabasawant Reddy, Shrinivas Badiger. The groundwater recharge response and hydrologic services of tropical humid forest ecosystems to use and reforestation: Support for the “infiltration-evapotranspiration trade-off hypothesis”,Journal of Hydrology.
  9. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems
  10. Nair, Tarun & Chellam, Ravi & Krishnaswamy, Jagdish. (2016). Estimation of ecological flows in the Son Gharial Sanctuary (Son River, Madhya Pradesh) with a focus on gharials Gavialis gangeticus.
  11. Krishnaswamy, J., Lele, S., & Jayakumar, S. (2006). Hydrology and watershed services in the Western Ghats of India: Effects of land use and land cover change. CISED, ATREE, UNESCO-IHP.
  12. Manish Kumar, Sumit Sen, Himanshu Kulkarni, Shrinivas Badiger, Girish R. Varma, Jagdish Krishnaswamy. Ecohydrological and hydrogeological dynamics of groundwater springs in Eastern Himalaya, India.

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

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Recording by Vraj Acharya, Nanditha Gogate and Pavan Srinath  

Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty

Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar

Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode

Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath

 

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