Controls on runoff from a partially harvested aspen‐forested headwater catchment, Boreal Plain, Canada

作者：Kevin John Devito, Irena F. Creed, Christian Fraser · 发表于：Hydrological Processes · 年份：2005 · DOI：10.1002/hyp.5776 · 被引用次数：143 · 研究领域：Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies、Soil erosion and sediment transport、Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics

Abstract The water balance and runoff regime of a 55 ha aspen‐forested headwater catchment located on the Boreal Plain, Alberta, Canada (55·1°N, 113·8°W) were determined for 5 years following a partial timber harvest. Variability in precipitation provided the opportunity to contrast catchment water balances in relatively dry (<350 mm year−1), wet (>500 mm year−1), and average precipitation years. In most years, the catchment water balance was dominated by soil water storage, evapotranspiration losses, and vertical recharge. In 1997, despite near‐average annual precipitation (486 mm), there was significant runoff (250 mm year−1) with a runoff coefficient of 52%. A wet summer and autumn in the preceding year (1996) and large snow accumulation in the spring (1997) reduced the soil water storage potential, and large runoff occurred in response to a substantial July rainfall event. Maps of the surface saturated areas indicated that runoff was generated from the uplands, ephemeral draws, and valley‐bottom wetlands. Following 1997, evapotranspiration exceeded precipitation and large soil water storage potentials developed, resulting in a reduction in surface runoff to 11 mm in 1998, and <2 mm in 1999–2001. During this time, the uplands were hydrologically disconnected from ephemeral draws and valley‐bottom wetlands. Interannual variability was influenced by the degree of saturation and connectivity of ephemeral draws and valley wetlands. Variability in runoff from tributaries within...