This conference is the eighth in a series that has become a prime venue for international scientific exchange among catchment scientists. The conference brings together a unique group of ecologists, hydrologists, geochemists, and soil scientists who realize that interdisciplinary research is needed to advance catchment science. Since the first conference in 1991, the field of catchment science has grown and is confronting new challenges such as the role of long-term climate and land use change, and the effects of ecosystem disturbances that include pathogens, forest fires, and extreme climatic events. Additionally, catchment scientists from a variety of disciplines are increasingly participating in ecosystem restorations that include the relocation and stabilization of stream channels, dam removal, and the reestablishment or protection of wetlands. Thus, catchment science is confronted with a need to simultaneously understand, explain, and predict the effects of multiple sources of change. With these issues in mind, scientists attending this conference will share cutting-edge research on the effects of ecosystem disturbance, ecosystem restoration, and the value of long-term monitoring and experimental manipulations.