Effects of changes in canopy interception on stream runoff response and recovery following clear-cutting of a Japanese coniferous forest in Fukuroyamasawa Experimental Watershed in Japan

Understanding changes in evapotranspiration during forest regrowth is essential to predict changes of stream runoff and recovery after forest cutting. Canopy interception (Ic) is an important component of evapotranspiration, however Ic changes and the impact on stream runoff during regrowth after cutting remains unclear due to limited observations. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of Ic changes on long-term stream runoff in a regrowth Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress forest following clear-cutting. This study was conducted in two 1-ha paired headwater catchments at Fukuroyamasawa Experimental Watershed in Japan. The catchments were 100% covered by Japanese coniferous plantation forest, one of which was 100% clear-cut in 1999 when the forest was 70 years old. In the treated catchment, annual runoff increased by 301 mm/year (14% of precipitation) the year following clear-cutting, and remained 185 mm/year (7.9% of precipitation) higher in the young regrowth forest for 12–14 years compared to the estimated runoff assuming no clear-cutting. The Ic change was −358 mm/year (17% of precipitation) after cutting and was −168 mm/year (6.7% of precipitation) in the 12–14 years old regrowth forest compared to the observed Ic during the pre-cutting period. Stream runoff increased in all seasons, and the Ic change was the main fraction of evapotranspiration change in all seasons throughout the observation period. These results suggest that the change in Ic accounted for most of the runoff response following forest cutting and the subsequent runoff recovery in this coniferous forest.     

An overview of hydrometeorological datasets from a small agricultural catchment (Nučice) in the Czech Republic

We introduce the freely available web-based Water in an Agricultural Landscape—NUčice Database (WALNUD) dataset that includes both hydrological and meteorological records at the Nučice experimental catchment (0.53 km²), which is representative of an intensively farmed landscape in the Czech Republic. The Nučice experimental catchment was established in 2011 for the observation of rainfall–runoff processes, soil erosion processes, and water balance of a cultivated landscape. The average altitude is 401 m a.s.l., the mean land slope is 3.9%, and the climate is humid continental (mean annual temperature 7.9°C, annual precipitation 630 mm). The catchment is drained by an artificially straightened stream and consists of three fields covering over 95% of the area which are managed by two different farmers. The typical crops are winter wheat, rapeseed, and alfalfa. The installed equipment includes a standard meteorological station, several rain gauges distributed across the basin, and a flume with an H-type facing that is used to monitor stream discharge, water turbidity, and basic water quality indicators. Additionally, the groundwater level and soil water content at various depths near the stream are recorded. Recently, large-scale soil moisture monitoring efforts have been introduced with the installation of two cosmic-ray neutron sensors for soil moisture monitoring. The datasets consist of observed variables (e.g. measured precipitation, air temperature, stream discharge, and soil moisture) and are available online for public use. The cross-seasonal, open access datasets at this small-scale agricultural catchment will benefit not only hydrologists but also local farmers.     

Do mixing models with different input requirement yield similar streamflow source contributions? Case study: A tropical montane catchment

Hydrogeochemical based mixing models have been successfully used to investigate the composition and source identification of streamflow. The applicability of these models is limited due to the high costs associated with data collection and the hydrogeochemical analysis of water samples. Fortunately, a variety of mixing models exist, requiting different amount of data as input, and in data scarce regions it is likely that preference will be given to models with the lowest requirement of input data. An unanswered question is if models with high or low input requirement are equally accurate. To this end, the performance of two mixing models with different input requirement, the mixing model analysis (MMA) and the end-member mixing analysis (EMMA), were verified on a tropical montane headwater catchment (21.7 km²) in the Ecuadorian Andes. Nineteen hydrogeochemical tracers were measured on water samples collected weekly during 3 years in streamflow and eight potential water sources or end-members (precipitation, lake water, soil water from different horizons and springs). Results based on 6 conservative tracers, revealed that EMMA (using all tracers) and MMA (using pair-combinations out of the 6 conservative ones), identified the same end-members: rainfall, soil water and spring water., as well as, similar contribution fractions to streamflow from rainfall 21.9% and 21.4%, soil water 52.7% and 52.3%, and spring water 26.1% and 28.7%, respectively. Our findings show that a hydrogeochemical mixing model requiring a few tracers can provide similar outcomes than models demanding more tracers as input data. This underlines the value of a preliminary detailed hydrogeochemical characterization as basis to derive the most cost-efficient monitoring strategy.     

Hydrological trends and the evolution of catchment research in the Alptal valley,central Switzerland

When the observation of small headwater catchments in the pre-Alpine Alptal valley (central Switzerland) started in the late 1960s, the researchers were mainly interested in questions related to floods and forest management. Investigations of geomorphological processes in the steep torrent channels followed in the 1980s, along with detailed observations of biogeochemical and ecohydrological processes in individual forest stands. More recently, research in the Alptal has addressed the impacts of climate change on water supply and runoff generation. In this article, we describe, for the first time, the evolution of catchment research at Alptal, and present new analyses of long-term trends and short-term hydrologic behaviour. Hydrometeorological time series from the past 50 years show substantial interannual variability, but only minimal long-term trends, except for the ~2°C increase in mean annual air temperature over the 50-year period, and a corresponding shift towards earlier snowmelt. Similar to previous studies in larger Alpine catchments, the decadal variations in mean annual runoff in Alptal's small research catchments reflect the long-term variability in annual precipitation. In the Alptal valley, the most evident hydrological trends were observed in late spring and are related to the substantial change in the duration of the snow cover. Streamflow and water quality are highly variable within and between hydrological events, suggesting rapid shifts in flow pathways and mixing, as well as changing connectivity of runoff-generating areas. This overview illustrates how catchment research in the Alptal has evolved in response to changing societal concerns and emerging scientific questions.     

Investigation of inner-basin variation: Impact of large reservoirs on water regimes of downstream water bodies

Large dams and reservoirs alter not only the natural flow regimes of streams and rivers but also their flooding cycles and flood magnitudes. Although the effect of dams and reservoirs has been reported for some vulnerable locations, the understanding of the inner-basin variation with respect to the effects remains limited. In this study, we analyse the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) built on the Changjiang mainstream (Yangtze River) to investigate the dam effect variations in the system of interconnected water bodies located downstream. We investigated the effect of flow alterations along the downstream river network using discharge time series at different gauging stations. The river–lake interactions (referring to the interactions between the Changjiang mainstream and its tributary lakes i.e. the Dongting and Poyang lakes) and their roles in modifying the TGD effect intensity were also investigated in the large-scale river–lake system. The results show that the water storage of the tributary lakes decreased after the activation of the TGD. Severe droughts occurred in the lakes, weakening their ability to recharge the Changjiang mainstream. As a consequence, the effect of the TGD on the Changjiang flow increase during the dry season diminished quickly downstream of the dam, whereas its impact on the flow decrease during the wet season gradually exacerbated along the mainstream, especially at sites located downstream of the lake outlets. Therefore, when assessing dam-induced hydrological changes, special attention should be paid to the changes in the storage of tributary lakes and the associated effects in the mainstream. This is of high importance for managing the water resource trade-offs between different water bodies in dam-affected riverine systems.     

Analytical investigation of the exact groundwater divide between rivers beyond the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation

The groundwater divide is a key feature of river basins and significantly influenced by subsurface hydrological processes. For an unconfined aquifer between two parallel rivers or ditches, it has long been defined as the top of the water table based on the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation. However, the exact groundwater divide is subject to the interface between two local flow systems transporting groundwater to rivers from the infiltration recharge. This study contributes a new analytical model for two-dimensional groundwater flow between rivers of different water levels. The flownet is delineated in the model to identify groundwater flow systems and the exact groundwater divide. Formulas with two dimensionless parameters are derived to determine the distributed hydraulic head, the top of the water table and the groundwater divide. The locations of the groundwater divide and the top of the water table are not the same. The distance between them in horizontal can reach up to 8.9% of the distance between rivers. Numerical verifications indicate that simplifications in the analytical model do not significantly cause misestimates in the location of the groundwater divide. In contrast, the Dupuit–Forchheimer approximation yields an incorrect water table shape. The new analytical model is applied to investigate groundwater divides in the Loess Plateau, China, with a Monte Carlo simulation process taking into account the uncertainties in the parameters.     

全球主要河流流域碳酸盐岩风化碳汇评估

碳酸盐岩风化吸收的大气CO₂主要以HCO₃ ^-形式连续地经由河流从大陆输送到海洋,成为陆地生态系统的重要碳汇。目前主要河流流域的碳酸盐岩风化碳汇估算存在不确定性,分布格局尚不清晰。基于GEMS-GLORI全球河流数据库提供的全球10万km ²以上主要河流流域多年平均监测数据,利用水化学径流法估算出全球主要河流流域碳酸盐岩对CO₂的吸收速率为0.43±0.15 Pg CO₂ yr ^-1,平均CO₂吸收通量为7.93±2.8 t km ^-2 yr ^-1。CO₂吸收通量在不同气候带下差异显著,热带和暖温带CO₂年吸收速率占全球主要河流流域年吸收速率的62.95%。冷温带CO₂年吸收速率占全球主要河流流域的33.05%,仅次于热带地区。本文划分出全球CO₂吸收通量的9个关键带,关键带的交汇处CO₂吸收通量较高。喀斯特出露流域碳酸盐岩对CO₂吸收通量的均值为8.50 t km ^-2 yr ^-1,约为非喀斯特流域的3倍。全球喀斯特出露流域碳酸盐岩风化碳汇在全球碳循环、水循环及碳收支平衡估算研究方面占据重要地位。     

近六百年来长江三角洲地区城镇空间与城镇体系格局演变分析

基于历史文献、古地图和现代遥感数据,引入历史学古代城镇形态复原方法,复原（提取）明代以来长江三角洲地区113座城镇7个时间断面（1461年、1820年、1930年、1970年、1980年、2000年和2010年）下的城镇边界,采用扩张速率、扩张效率、首位度指数和位序-规模法则,分析了近六百年来区域城镇空间与城镇体系等级规模演变格局。取得以下研究结果：\mathrm{①}研究时段内,区内城镇用地总规模由205.98 km²增加到6442.19 km²,扩大了31.27倍;城镇扩张经历了萌芽阶段（明清时期）、起步阶段（民国至改革开放前夕）、成长阶段（改革开放至2000年）和加速阶段（2000—2010年）,城镇扩张速率不断加快,但扩张效率有待提升;\mathrm{②}在城镇等级规模空间格局上,明清时期南京与苏州为区内的一级城镇,民国后,上海逐渐取代其地位,从五级城镇发展成为区域核心城镇,四级以上城镇主要集中在长江干流沿岸和太湖流域,五级以下城镇大多集中在安徽;城镇体系呈首位型分布,城镇首位度较高,且改革开放后的城镇首位度较明清与民国时期要高,不同等级规模城镇之间差距扩大,大城镇优势较强。近30年,长江沿岸城镇发展加速,苏锡常都市圈、南京都市圈等逐渐形成并快速发展。     

鄂尔多斯地块—扬子地块深部电性结构特征及其动力学意义

位于青藏高原东北缘的秦岭造山带在大地构造上南接扬子地块、北接华北地块,是特提斯构造域和古亚洲洋构造域的转换带。本文基于对一条起始于扬子地块,穿过秦岭造山带和鄂尔多斯地块,到达河套地堑的南北向大地电磁测深剖面的研究,探讨秦岭造山带和其北侧的鄂尔多斯地块、南侧的扬子地块之间的接触关系,以及青藏高原物质东北向逃逸等地学问题。对实测数据进行了张量阻抗分解和维性分析等工作,并对剖面进行了二维反演,获得岩石圈电性结构模型。根据电阻率模型认为:在秦岭造山带北部发现大规模"瓶颈状"分布的低阻异常体(C2),可能为华北、华南地块双向俯冲前缘地幔物质的上涌通道,或者是青藏高原中、下地壳物质沿秦岭造山带中构造薄弱位置向东逃逸的通道;在秦岭造山带和大巴山弧形带边界处发现南倾的低阻异常(C1),解释为大巴山弧形带北缘的逆冲断裂在电性上的反映;电性结构模型中,扬子地块高阻异常体(R2、R3和R4)向北倾斜至秦岭造山带下方,而北部鄂尔多斯地块的高阻异常体(R5和R6)向南倾斜至秦岭造山带下方;高阻异常通常被认为是稳定岩石圈的反映,据此推断这两组相向俯冲至秦岭造山带下方的高阻异常是华北地块和扬子地块向秦岭造山带下方汇聚的电性结构探测依据;鄂尔多斯地块南、北电性差异较大,北部中、下地壳大规模分布电阻率值在3～100Ω·m之间的低阻异常体,可能为地幔上涌导致的局部熔融或含盐流体共同作用的结果。     

Morphology and dynamics of the intertidal floodplain along the Amazon tidal river

Depositional environments along the tidal river downstream of Óbidos have been proposed as important sinks for up to one third of the sediment discharge from the Amazon River. However, the morphology of the intertidal floodplain and the dynamics of sediment exchange along this reach have yet to be described. River-bank surveys in five regions along the Amazon tidal river reveal a distinct transition in bank morphology between the upper, central and lower reaches of the tidal river. The upper tidal-river floodplain is defined by prominent natural levees that control the transfer of water and sediment between the mainstem Amazon River and its floodplain. Greater tidal influence in the central tidal river suppresses levee development, and tidal currents increase sediment transport into the distal parts of the floodplain. In the lower tidal river, the floodplain morphology closely resembles marine intertidal environments (e.g. mud flats, salt marshes), with dendritic tidal channels incising elevated vegetated flats. Theory, morphology and geochronology suggest that the dynamics of sediment delivery to the intertidal floodplain of the Amazon tidal river vary along its length due to the relative influence and coupling of fluvial and tidal dynamics. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.