HYDROCHEMICAL DECIPHERING OF STREAMFLOW GENERATION IN SEMI-ARID EAST AFRICA

There is a critical lack of knowledge regarding the dynamics of streamflow generation in the semi-arid tropics, particularly in Africa. In this project runoff mechanisms in forested and non-forested degraded catchments in northern Tanzania were studied using combined hydrometrical and hydrochemical methods. Following the hydrochemical identification of several flowpaths contributing to runoff, hydrograph separation by an end-member model based on K and Ca was undertaken. Results from the forested catchment indicate that stormflow was dominated by event water (about 75%), via overland flow and throughflow. The proportion of pre-event water (groundwater) displaced into the stream by a suggested riparian groundwater ridge mechanism varied, depending on the rainfall characteristics. In the non-forested, degraded catchment, nearly all stormflow was event water, and groundwater discharge was unaffected by rainfall. It is suggested that macropore flow is pivotal to the transmission of rainfall to runoff via throughflow, particularly in semi-arid tropical areas.