Forest operations,tree species composition and decline in rainfall explain runoff changes in the Nacimiento experimental catchments,south central Chile

Few long-term studies have explored how intensively managed short rotation forest plantations interact with climate variability. We examine how prolonged severe drought and forest operations affect runoff in 11 experimental catchments on private corporate forest land near Nacimiento in south central Chile over the period 2008–2019. The catchments (7.7–414 ha) contain forest plantations of exotic fast-growing species (Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus spp.) at various stages of growth in a Mediterranean climate (mean long-term annual rainfall = 1381 mm). Since 2010, a drought, unprecedented in recent history, has reduced rainfall at Nacimiento by 20%, relative to the long-term mean. Pre-drought runoff ratios were <0.2 under 8-year-old Eucalyptus; >0.4 under 21-year-old Radiata pine and >0.8 where herbicide treatments had controlled vegetation for 2 years in 38% of the catchment area. Early in the study period, clearcutting of Radiata pine (85%–95% of catchment area) increased streamflow by 150 mm as compared with the year before harvest, while clearcutting and partial cuts of Eucalyptus did not increase streamflow. During 2008–2019, the combination of emerging drought and forestry treatments (replanting with Eucalyptus after clearcutting of Radiata pine and Eucalyptus) reduced streamflow by 400–500 mm, and regeneration of previously herbicide-treated vegetation combined with growth of Eucalyptus plantations reduced streamflow by 1125 mm (87% of mean annual precipitation 2010–2019). These results from one of the most comprehensive forest catchment studies in the world on private industrial forest land indicate that multiple decades of forest management have reduced deep soil moisture reservoirs. This effect has been exacerbated by drought and conversion from Radiata pine to Eucalyptus, apparently largely eliminating subsurface supply to streamflow. The findings reveal tradeoffs between wood production and water supply, provide lessons for adapting forest management to the projected future drier climate in Chile, and underscore the need for continued experimental work in managed forest plantations.     

National flood discharge mapping in Austria

This article presents the approach and the results of a study in which 30, 100 and 200 year return period flood discharges were estimated for 26,000 km of Austrian streams. Three guiding principles were adopted: combination of automatic methods and manual assessments by hydrologists to allow speedy processing and account for the local hydrological situation; combination of various sources of information including flood peak samples, rainfall data, runoff coefficients and historical flood data; and involvement of the Hydrographic Services to increase the accuracy and enhance the acceptance of results. The flood discharges for ungauged catchments were estimated by the Top-kriging approach with manual adjustment to the local flood characteristics. The adopted combination approach proved to be very efficient both in terms of the project time required and in terms of the accuracy and acceptability of the estimated flood discharges of given return periods.     

黄土高原西北部集雨水利用的投资与效益分析

以黄土高原西北部为研究区,通过中国科学院皋兰生态农业试验站2000-2001年雨水集流试验与春小麦、西瓜、西兰花和黄瓜的补灌试验,对各种集流场的年产流率和集流费用、蓄水窖(池)的贮水费用、作物产量和水分利用效率、以及各作物集雨微灌的投资、产值与单方水产值进行了比较分析。结果表明:各集流面平均集流费用和各蓄水窖(池)的平均贮水费用都很高,分别为1.07元/m3和5.08元/m3,且贮水费用显著高于集流费用。净产值和单方水产值的大小顺序依次为日光温室黄瓜、大田西兰花、砂田西瓜和大田小麦。如把人工计算在内,大田小麦不进行补灌,其净产值为负值,进而补灌导致了净产值的大幅度减小。集雨水用于微灌砂田西瓜、西兰花和日光温室黄瓜都能产生很好的经济效益。并提出了日光温室集水-贮水-高效用水的"一池一窖"模式。     

A review of paired catchment studies for determining changes in water yield resulting from alterations in vegetation

Paired catchment studies have been widely used as a means of determining the magnitude of water yield changes resulting from changes in vegetation. This review focuses on the use of paired catchment studies for determining the changes in water yield at various time scales resulting from permanent changes in vegetation. The review considers long term annual changes, adjustment time scales, the seasonal pattern of flows and changes in both annual and seasonal flow duration curves. The paired catchment studies reported in the literature have been divided into four broad categories: afforestation experiments, deforestation experiments, regrowth experiments and forest conversion experiments. Comparisons between paired catchment results and a mean annual water balance model are presented and show good agreement between the two methodologies. The results highlight the potential underestimation of water yield changes if regrowth experiments are used to predict the likely impact of permanent alterations to a catchment's vegetation. An analysis of annual water yield changes from afforestation, deforestation and regrowth experiments demonstrates that the time taken to reach a new equilibrium under permanent land use change varies considerably. Deforestation experiments reach a new equilibrium more quickly than afforestation experiments. The review of papers reporting seasonal changes in water yield highlights the proportionally larger impact on low flows. Flow duration curve comparison provides a potential means of gaining a greater understanding of the impact of vegetation on the distribution of daily flows.     

Model identification for hydrological forecasting under uncertainty

Methods for the identification of models for hydrological forecasting have to consider the specific nature of these models and the uncertainties present in the modeling process. Current approaches fail to fully incorporate these two aspects. In this paper we review the nature of hydrological models and the consequences of this nature for the task of model identification. We then continue to discuss the history (“The need for more POWER‘’), the current state (“Learning from other fields”) and the future (“Towards a general framework”) of model identification. The discussion closes with a list of desirable features for an identification framework under uncertainty and open research questions in need of answers before such a framework can be implemented.     

Chemical weathering and CO2 consumption in the glaciated Karuxung River catchment,Tibetan Plateau

Climate factors play critical roles in controlling chemical weathering, while chemically weathered surface material can regulate climate change. To estimate global chemical weathering fluxes and CO₂ balance, it is important to identify the characteristics and driving factors of chemical weathering and CO₂ consumption on the Tibetan Plateau, especially in glaciated catchments. The analysis of the hydro-geochemical data indicated that silicate weathering in this area was inhibited by low temperatures, while carbonate weathering was promoted by the abundant clastic rocks with fresh surfaces produced by glacial action. Carbonate weathering dominated the riverine solute generation (with a contribution of 58%, 51%, and 43% at the QiangYong Glacier (QYG), the WengGuo Hydrological Station (WGHS), and the lake estuary (LE), respectively). The oxidation of pyrite contributed to 35%, 42%, and 30% of the riverine solutes, while silicate weathering contributed to 5%, 6%, and 26% of the riverine solutes at the QYG, WGHS, and LE, respectively. The alluvial deposit of easily weathering fine silicate minerals, the higher air temperature, plant density, and soil thickness at the downstream LE in comparison to upstream and midstream may lead to longer contact time between pore water and mineral materials, thus enhancing the silicate weathering. Because of the involvement of sulfuric acid produced by the oxidation of pyrite, carbonate weathering in the upstream and midstream did not consume atmospheric CO₂, resulting in the high rate of carbonate weathering (73.9 and 75.6 t km⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively, in maximum) and potential net release of CO₂ (with an upper constraint of 35.6 and 35.2 t km⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively) at the QYG and WGHS. The above results indicate the potential of the glaciated area of the Tibetan Plateau with pyrite deposits being a substantial natural carbon source, which deserves further investigation.     

Sediment transfer in an extremely low-gradient,low-relief and highly buffered system: Darwin Harbour catchment,northern Australia

Abstract

Sediment yields from and sediment transfer within catchments of very low relief and gradient, which make up about 50% of Earth’s surface, are poorly documented and their internal sediment dynamics are poorly known. Sediment sources, their proportionate contributions to valley floors and sediment yield, and storage are estimated using fallout radionuclides ²¹⁰Pb_(ex) and ¹³⁷Cs in the catchments that drain into Darwin Harbour, northern Australia, an example of this understudied catchment type that appears to be globally at the extreme end of this category of catchments. Unchannelled grassy valley floors (dambos, or seasonal wetlands) trap ～90% of the sediment delivered from hillslopes by sheet and rill erosion. Further down valley, small channels transport ～10% of the sediment that escapes from the dambos, and the remaining sediment comes from erosion of the channels. In this case, the fractional sediment storage is very high as a result of the existence of dambos, a landform that depends for its existence on low gradients.     

Application of a confluence‐based sediment‐fingerprinting approach to a dynamic sedimentary catchment,New Zealand

Fine sediment is a dynamic component of the fluvial system, contributing to the physical form, chemistry and ecological health of a river. It is important to understand rates and patterns of sediment delivery, transport and deposition. Sediment fingerprinting is a means of directly determining sediment sources via their geochemical properties, but it faces challenges in discriminating sources within larger catchments. In this research, sediment fingerprinting was applied to major river confluences in the Manawatu catchment as a broad‐scale application to characterizing sub‐catchment sediment contributions for a sedimentary catchment dominated by agriculture. Stepwise discriminant function analysis and principal component analysis of bulk geochemical concentrations and geochemical indicators were used to investigate sub‐catchment geochemical signatures. Each confluence displayed a unique array of geochemical variables suited for discrimination. Geochemical variation in upstream sediment samples was likely a result of the varying geological source compositions. The Tiraumea sub‐catchment provided the dominant signature at the major confluence with the Upper Manawatu and Mangatainoka sub‐catchments. Subsequent downstream confluences are dominated by the upstream geochemical signatures from the main stem of Manawatu River. Variability in the downstream geochemical signature is likely due to incomplete mixing caused in part by channel configuration. Results from this exploratory investigation indicate that numerous geochemical elements have the ability to differentiate fine sediment sources using a broad‐scale confluence‐based approach and suggest there is enough geochemical variation throughout a large sedimentary catchment for a full sediment fingerprint model. Combining powerful statistical procedures with other geochemical analyses is critical to understanding the processes or spatial patterns responsible for sediment signature variation within this type of catchment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A hydropedological approach to simulate streamflow and soil water contents with SWAT+

Reflecting internal catchment hydrological processes in hydrological models is important for accurate predictions of the impact of climate and land-use change on water resources. Characterizing these processes is however difficult and expensive due to their dynamic nature and spatio-temporal variability. Hydropedology is a relatively new discipline focusing on the synergistic integration of hydrology, soil physics and pedology. Hydropedological interpretations of soils and soil distribution can be used to characterize key hydrological processes, especially in areas with no or limited hydrometric measurements. Here we applied a hydropedological approach to reflect flowpaths through detailed routing in SWAT+ for a 157 ha catchment (Weatherley) in South Africa. We compared the hydropedological approach and a standard (no routing) approach against measured streamflow (two weirs) and soil water contents (13 locations). The catchment was treated as ‘ungauged’ and the model was not calibrated against hydrometric measurements in order to determine the direct contribution of hydropedology on modelling efficiency. Streamflow was predicted well without calibration (NSE > 0.8; R² > 0.82) for both approaches at both weirs. The standard approach yielded slightly better streamflow predictions. The hydropedological approach resulted in considerable improvements in the simulation of soil water contents (R² increased from 0.40 to 0.49 and PBIAS decreased from 40% to 20%). The routing capacity of SWAT+ as employed in the hydropedological approach reduced the underestimation of wetland water regimes drastically and resulted in a more accurate representation of the dominant hydrological processes in this catchment. We concluded that hydropedology can be a valuable source of ‘soft data’ to reflect internal catchment structure and processes and, potentially, for realistic calibrations in other studies, especially those conducted in areas with limited hydrometric measurements.     

Spatio‐temporal variability of the isotopic input signal in a partly forested catchment: Implications for hydrograph separation

The isotopic composition of precipitation (D and ¹⁸O) has been widely used as an input signal in water tracer studies. Whereas much recent effort has been put into developing methodologies to improve our understanding and modelling of hydrological processes (e.g., transit‐time distributions or young water fractions), less attention has been paid to the spatio‐temporal variability of the isotopic composition of precipitation, used as input signal in these studies. Here, we investigated the uncertainty in isotope‐based hydrograph separation due to the spatio‐temporal variability of the isotopic composition of precipitation. The study was carried out in a Mediterranean headwater catchment (0.56 km²). Rainfall and throughfall samples were collected at three locations across this relatively small catchment, and stream water samples were collected at the outlet. Results showed that throughout an event, the spatial variability of the input signal had a higher impact on hydrograph separation results than its temporal variability. However, differences in isotope‐based hydrograph separation determined preevent water due to the spatio‐temporal variability were different between events and ranged between 1 and 14%. Based on catchment‐scale isoscapes, the most representative sampling location could also be identified. This study confirms that even in small headwater catchments, spatio‐temporal variability can be significant. Therefore, it is important to characterize this variability and identify the best sampling strategy to reduce the uncertainty in our understanding of catchment hydrological processes.