Comparison of streamflow recession between plantations and native forests in small catchments in Central-Southern Chile

In central Chile, many communities rely on water obtained from small catchments in the coastal mountains. Water security for these communities is most vulnerable during the summer dry season and, from 2010 to 2017, rainfall during the dry season was between 20% and 40% below the long-term average. The rate of decrease in stream flow after a rainfall event is a good measure of the risk of flow decreasing below a critical threshold. This risk of low flow can be quantified using a recession coefficient (α) that is the slope of an exponential decay function relating flow to time since rainfall. A mathematical model was used to estimate the recession coefficient (α) for 142 rainstorm events (64 in summer; 78 in winter) in eight monitored catchments between 2008 and 2017. These catchments all have a similar geology and extend from 35 to 39 degrees of latitude south in the coastal range of south-central Chile. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to test for differences between the mean value of α for different regions and forest types in winter and summer. The value of α did not differ (p < 0.05) between catchments in winter. Some differences were observed during summer and these were attributed to morphological differences between catchments and, in the northernmost catchments, the effect of land cover (native forest and plantation). Moreover, α for catchments with native forest was similar to those with pine plantations, although there was no difference (p < 0.05) between these and Eucalyptus plantations. The recession constant is a well-established method for understanding the effect of climate and disturbance on low flows and baseflows and can enhance local and regional analyses of hydrological processes. Understanding the recession of flow after rainfall in small headwater catchments, especially during summer, is vital for water resources management in areas where the establishment of plantations has occurred in a drying climate.     

Summer flows in experimental catchments with different forest covers, Chile

Runoff and peak flows in four experimental catchments with different land uses are analyzed for summer periods. The catchments have a rainy temperate climate with annual precipitations between 2000 and 2500 mm, 70% of which is concentrated in the winter period between May and August. The final harvest of the forest plantation in one of these catchments generated increases in summer runoff. Also, differences between the maximum instantaneous discharge and the flow at the beginning of the storm then almost duplicated those registered in rainfall events of similar magnitude when the catchment was fully forested. Runoff analysis in this catchment is difficult because the two post-harvesting summer periods are much wetter than the two pre-harvesting ones but a double mass analysis shows the effect of harvesting clearly. In a paired catchment study, low cover in one of the two neighbour catchments explains higher direct runoff and base flows although lower maximum instantaneous specific discharge occurred in the less vegetated but larger catchment. Low vegetation cover explains increases in summer flows, although the size, topography, rainfall conditions, road density, extent of affected area and runoff generation processes play an important role in the hydrological effects of different land uses.     

The effects of topography and forest management on water storage in catchments in south‐central Chile

Our work analyses the intra‐annual variability of the volume of water stored in 15 forested headwater catchments from south‐central Chile, aiming at understanding how forest management, hydrology, and climate influence the dynamic components of catchment storage. Thus, we address the following questions: (a) How does the annual water storage vary in catchments located in diverse hydroclimatic conditions and subject to variable forest management? (b) Which natural (i.e., hydrologic regime and physiographic setting) and anthropogenic factors explain the variance in water storage? Results show that the annual catchment storage increases at the beginning of each hydrological year in direct response to increases in rainfall. The maximum water storage ranges from 666 to 1,272 mm in these catchments. The catchments with Pinus or Eucalyptus spp. cover store less water than the catchments with mixed forest species cover. Forest cover (biomass volume, plantation density, and percentage of plantation and age) has the primary control on dynamic storage in all catchments. These results indicate that forest management may alter the catchment water storage.     

Throughfall enrichment and stream nutrient chemistry in small headwater catchments with different land cover in southern Chile

Land cover changes have a great impact on nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) fluxes catchments. In this study, we wanted to compare different land covers: deciduous (D), evergreen (E) (both native forests), and exotic Eucalyptus globulus plantation (EP), affected precipitation, and stream discharge on N and P species concentrations and fluxes, under a low deposition climate in south‐central Chile. For this, we collected bulk precipitation, throughfall, and stream water samples after 41 rainfall events in E and EP, during the period June 2009–March 2011, and 31 rainfall events in D, during the period October 2009–March 2011. The highest canopy enrichment of N and P species for throughfall was observed in deciduous forest, while E. globulus showed the minimum enrichment. Total nitrogen (total‐N) discharge in EP was about 8.6 times higher than that of E and D catchments. Total‐N annual retention was positive only in E and D catchments. However, EP catchment showed a net loss (?4.79 kg N ha/year). The biggest difference was observed in nitrate stream concentrations, which showed low values for E (3.4 ± 1.3 μg/L), while EP and D showed higher nitrate concentrations (84.9 ± 16.7 and 134.7 ± 36.7 μg/L, for EP and D, respectively). Total phosphorous (total‐P) discharge flux was low in EP (0.4 kg P ha/year), and negligible in E and D forests (<0.1 kg P ha/year). Total‐P annual retention was near to 1.0 kg N ha/year (on E and D), while a net loss (?1.5 kg N ha/year) was observed for EP. We attribute the observed differences in nutrient throughfall enrichment due to high multi‐stratified canopies in the native forests. Both deciduous and evergreen native forest‐covered catchments showed the highest retention of total‐N and total‐P, in contrast to Eucalyptus‐covered plantation.     

Comparison of interception losses in a broadleaved native forest and a Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir) plantation in the Andes Mountains of southern Chile

For a 26 month period, between 1 February 1998 and 31 March 2000, total precipitation, throughfall, stemflow and interception losses were measured for two different forest covers, one a managed broadleaved native forest and the other a Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco (Douglas fir) plantation. Regressions between throughfall and stemflow and total precipitation (P) for individual storms and forest covers were computed and also for values of interception losses (expressed as a percentage of P) and P for each forest cover and period of development of the forest vegetation. Results obtained demonstrate the importance of forest canopies in rainfall distribution processes and for the availability of water resources. Also, that these forests generate particular interception patterns not strongly associated with the variation in crown cover throughout the year. These patterns are more closely related to the characteristics of rainfall and meteorological conditions during the growing and dormant periods. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

The Kiryu Experimental Watershed: 50-years of rainfall-runoff data for a forest catchment in central Japan

The Kiryu Experimental Catchment (KEW) is a small (5.99 ha) forest catchment located in Shiga Prefecture, central Japan (34°58′ N, 136°00′ E; www.bluemoon.kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kiryu/contents.html ). Around this area, forest devastation occurred from ca. 1250 to ca. 150 years ago because of overuse of forest and timbers. Then, hillside forestation was carried out for more than 100 years to prevent soil erosion and support the timber industry, and consequently, most of this area is now covered with plantation forests mainly by Chamaecyparis obtusa Sieb. et Zucc. (Japanese cypress) planted around 1960's. This plantation forest is not actively managed. The KEW is one of the leading experimental forests with long-term monitoring data in Japan. Research in the KEW began in 1967 to elucidate the hydrological and biogeochemical processes in the forested catchment in relation to climate, geology, soil, and vegetation growth. Since then, the long-term hydrological data of precipitation, runoff and sediment transport are continuously monitoring. In this study, we provide the data and preliminarily discuss the rainfall–runoff patterns and sediment transport through 50 years in the KEW. The annual precipitation and the maximum daily rainfall have been greater than the average over the last decade. In response to the rainfall patterns, the ratio of annual direct runoff to precipitation was also larger in the last decade. The sediment transport in this decade was consequently larger than the preceding decades. Our data presented here suggest that a close relationship exists between the climate condition, rainfall–runoff response, sediment dynamics, as well as a slowly progressing change of forest condition.