Integrated computing environments for watershed management

This paper describes a new computing paradigm known as a problem solving environment (PSE), explores the role this new paradigm might play in watershed management and land use change analysis, and compares PSEs to similar technologies such as decision support systems and geographic information systems. A prototypical watershed management PSE organizes and unifies the diverse collection of software typically associated with ecosystem models (hydrological, economic, and biological). A PSE provides a Web-based interface for potential watershed managers and other users to explore meaningful alternative land development and management scenarios and view their hydrological, ecological, and economic impacts. A brief description of a land use change analysis PSE being developed (called L2W, landscapes to waterscapes) is presented.