Travel times for snowmelt‐dominated headwater catchments: Influences of wetlands and forest harvesting, and linkages to stream water quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 2154-2175
Author(s):  
Jason A. Leach ◽  
James M. Buttle ◽  
Kara L. Webster ◽  
Paul W. Hazlett ◽  
Dean S. Jeffries
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Travel Times ◽  
Stream Water Quality ◽  
Headwater Catchments

Linking the dynamic expansion and contraction of stream networks to changes in water storage and water quality in a pre-Alpine catchment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabela Bujak ◽  
Andrea Rinaldo ◽  
Ilja van Meerveld ◽  
Florian Käslin ◽  
Jana von Freyberg
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Network Dynamics ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Stream Water Quality ◽  
Stream Network ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Headwater Catchments ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Flowing Stream

<p>Many headwater catchments are characterized by temporary streams that flow only seasonally or during rainfall events. As a result, the network of flowing streams is a dynamic system that periodically expands and contracts. This dynamic is likely to affect water flow and composition: the expansion of the stream network enhances the hydrologic connectivity of hillslopes to the streams, which facilitates shorter transit times. Also, the onset of flow in previously dry streambeds can cause flushing of sediments and nutrients. However, our knowledge of the relationships between flowing stream network dynamics and water quantity and quality in headwater catchments is still limited because experimental data remain sparse.</p><p>Within the TempAqua project we investigate the processes that drive stream network dynamics by relating measurements of stream network geometry to changes in catchment water storage and stream water quality. For this, we monitored the flow state, discharge, groundwater levels, soil moisture, and precipitation in three (3-7 ha) headwater catchments in the northern Swiss pre-Alps (Alptal catchment) in summer and fall 2020 using a wireless sensor network. To obtain high-resolution data of the dynamic stream network, we did multiple mapping surveys using a self-developed mobile phone application. Moreover, we sampled streamwater and precipitation at an hourly resolution during rainfall events at multiple locations to quantify the short-term changes in water quality when the stream network expands. We will present our research activities in the Alptal catchment and discuss the initial results obtained from the combined monitoring of the flowing stream network and hydrometric and hydrochemical variables.</p>

scholarly journals The impacts of conifer harvesting on runoff water quality: a regional survey for Wales

1998 ◽  
Vol 2 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 323-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Neal ◽  
B. Reynolds ◽  
J. Wilkinson ◽  
T. Hill ◽  
M. Neal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Base Cation ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Parent Material ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Stream Water Quality ◽  
Regional Survey ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Nitrate Pulse

Abstract. Major, minor and trace element chemistry of runoff at stormflow and baseflow from 67 catchments (2 to 5 ha in area) has been determined to investigate the effects of clear felling and replanting of conifers on stream water quality across Wales. Samples, collected by local forestry workers (Forest Enterprise staff) on a campaign basis on up to eight occasions, were for 16 mature first rotation standing forest: the remainder represented areas completely clear felled from less than one to up to forty years previously. As the waters drain acidic and acid sensitive soils, acidic runoff is often encountered. However, higher pH values with associated positive alkalinities and base cation enrichments are observed due to the influence of weathering reactions within the bedrock. There is little systematic variation in water quality between baseflow and stormflow for each site indicating a complex and erratic contribution of waters from the soil and underlying parent material. 80% or more of the data points show hardly any changes with felling time, but there are a few outlier points with much higher concentrations that provide important information on the processes operative. The clearest outlier felling response is for nitrate at five of the more recently felled sites on brown earth, gley and podzolic soil types. ANC, the prime indicator of stream acidity, shows a diverse response from both high to low outlier values (>+400 to -300 μEq/l). In parallel to nitrate, aluminium, potassium and barium concentrations are higher in waters sampled up to 4 years post felling, but the time series response is even less clear than that for nitrate. Cadmium, zinc and lead and lanthanides/actinides show large variations from site to site due to localized vein ore-mineralization in the underlying bedrock. The survey provides a strong indication that forest harvesting can have marked local effects on some chemical components of runoff for the first four years after felling but that this is confined to a small number of sites where nitrate production and aluminium leaching are high. In general, deforestation leads to a reversal of acidification when the nitrate pulse is low. The variability in water quality from catchment to catchment is too high for generalized conclusions to be made over the extent of the potential changes from site to site. The value of an organised campaign of opportunistic sampling using an infrastructure of enthusiastic staff from regionally dispersed organisations associated with environmental matters (in this case the forestry industry) is highlighted.

Sediment delivery in managed forests: a review

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
J C Croke ◽  
P B Hairsine
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Stream Water Quality ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Forest Road

The opening or removal of forest canopies during harvesting or land clearing results in a predictable sequence of responses, the descriptions of which appear remarkably similar around the world. Such activities are now widely acknowledged to have adverse impacts upon water quality and in-stream ecology. Sediment delivery, therefore, encapsulates the dominant process by which water resources are impacted and the process that can be best managed to limit off-site impacts. This paper is a review of current processes, and perceptions, of sediment delivery in managed forests. We outline the major components of sediment and runoff delivery as they relate specifically to timber harvesting activities. Whilst much existing research has focused upon soil loss as the major component of timber harvesting impacts, this review highlights both the need for, and benefits from, a conceptual advance in our thinking of sediment delivery. We advocate that by managing runoff delivery pathways and the resultant pattern of hydrological connectivity, we can limit the potential adverse effects of forest harvesting on in-stream water quality. Specific attention is given here to the interaction of the forest road and track network with both sediment and runoff delivery. The result is a comprehensive account of how best to manage timber harvesting for both on-site sustainability and off-site water resource protection.Key words: timber harvesting, sediment delivery, road network, connectivity, best management practices (BMPs).

Data from selected U.S. Geological Survey National Stream Water-Quality Networks (WQN)

Data Series ◽  
10.3133/ds37 ◽  
1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Alexander ◽  
J.R. Slack ◽  
A.S. Ludtke ◽  
K.K. Fitzgerald ◽  
T.L. Schertz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
Stream Water Quality

Application of Expert Systems Technology in Water Quality Modeling

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 1045-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas O. Barnwell ◽  
Linfield C. Brown ◽  
Wiktor Marek
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Expert Systems ◽  
Knowledge Engineering ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Environmental Modeling ◽  
Water Quality Modeling ◽  
Stream Water Quality ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Available Technology

Computerized modeling is becoming an integral part of decision making in water pollution control. Expert systems is an innovative methodology that can assist in building, using, and interpreting the output of these models. This paper reviews the use and evaluates the potential of expert systems technology in environmental modeling and describes elements of an expert advisor for the stream water quality model QUAL2E. Some general conclusions are presented about the tools available to develop this system, the level of available technology in knowledge-based engineering, and the value of approaching problems from a knowledge engineering perspective.

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