bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Forestry and the aquatic environment: studies in an Irish context
Authors: Giller P. S. , O’Halloran J.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Research on the interaction between plantation forestry and aquatic environments is essential to develop environmentally compatible and sustainable management further. Given, in Ireland, the generally low levels of atmospheric pollution, its geology and maritime climate, and the unique fauna and flora due to its island history, such studies are important not only in the regional context, but also internationally, as they provide an opportunity to examine the effect of forestry and forest management practices on aquatic systems per se, without the complications of acidification. Here, some of the major findings of forestry and water research in Ireland have been reviewed and compared with those from the UK and elsewhere. Plantation forests do not exacerbate acidification in the south of Ireland (Munster) as a whole so that the influence of forestry on water chemistry is far less important than in other parts of the country (such as Wicklow and Mayo). The main forestry influence on streams in Munster is more likely through physical factors, but their nature is unclear. In a few catchments some negative effects are evident, but in many others apparently positive forest effects occur. In this context, smaller scale catchment-level effects appear to be more important in explaining the various relationships between plantation forests and stream ecology than larger scale regional factors. The management of riparian zones, particularly in forested catchments, is of major importance for the structure and functioning of aquatic communities and further work is needed on best management practices. It is suggested that it is unreasonable to base forest management on national Forest-Fisheries guidelines since regions vary too much and the signal from local conditions is too strong. The approach for environmentally benign, scientifically sound forestry management has to be at the catchment scale. Trees in the right places may be beneficial ecologically but further work is needed to identify these locations. The introduction of new forest management practices such as adoption of new species mixes and continuous forest cover are at an early stage in Ireland and their influence on aquatic systems is unknown. Keywords: forest-stream interactions, Irish plantation forestry, hydrochemistry, macroinvertebrates, salmonids, forest management
The development of an approach to assess critical loads of acidity for woodland habitats in Great Britain
Authors: Langan S. J. , Hall J. , Reynolds B. , Broadmeadow M. , Hornung M. , Cresser M. S.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Alongside other countries that are signatories to the UNECE Convention Long Range Transboundary on Air Pollution, the UK is committed to reducing the impact of air pollution on the environment. To advise and guide this policy in relation to atmospheric emissions of sulphur and nitrogen, a critical load approach has been developed. To assess the potential impact of these pollutants on woodland habitats a steady state, simple mass balance model has been parameterised. For mineral soils, a Ca:Al ratio in soil solution has been used as the critical load indicator for potential damage. For peat and organic soils critical loads have been set according to a pH criterion. Together these approaches have been used with national datasets to examine the potential scale of acidification in woodland habitats across the UK. The results can be mapped to show the spatial variability in critical loads of the three principal woodland habitat types (managed coniferous, managed broadleaved/ mixed woodland and unmanaged woodland). The results suggest that there is a wide range of critical loads. The most sensitive (lowest) critical loads are associated with managed coniferous followed by unmanaged woodland on peat soils. Calculations indicate that at steady state, acid deposition inputs reported for 1995–1997 result in a large proportion of all the woodland habitats identified receiving deposition loads in excess of their critical load; i.e. critical loads are exceeded. These are discussed in relation to future modelled depositions for 2010. Whilst significant widespread negative impacts of such deposition on UK woodland habitats have not been reported, the work serves to illustrate that if acid deposition inputs were maintained and projected emissions reductions not achieved, the long-term sustainability of large areas of woodland in the UK could be compromised. Keywords: critical loads, acid deposition, acidification, woodland, simple mass balance model, sustainability
The water quality of the LOCAR Pang and Lambourn catchments
Authors: Neal C. , Jarvie H. P. , Wade A. J. , Neal M. , Wyatt R. , Wickham H. , Hill L. , Hewitt N.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The water quality of the Pang and Lambourn, tributaries of the River Thames, in south-eastern England, is described in relation to spatial and temporal dimensions. The river waters are supplied mainly from Chalk-fed aquifer sources and are, therefore, of a calcium-bicarbonate type. The major, minor and trace element chemistry of the rivers is controlled by a combination of atmospheric and pollutant inputs from agriculture and sewage sources superimposed on a background water quality signal linked to geological sources. Water quality does not vary greatly over time or space. However, in detail, there are differences in water quality between the Pang and Lambourn and between sites along the Pang and the Lambourn. These differences reflect hydrological processes, water flow pathways and water quality input fluxes. The Pang’s pattern of water quality change is more variable than that of the Lambourn. The flow hydrograph also shows both a cyclical and "uniform pattern" characteristic of aquifer drainage with, superimposed, a series of "flashier" spiked responses characteristic of karstic systems. The Lambourn, in contrast, shows simpler features without the "flashier" responses. The results are discussed in relation to the newly developed UK community programme LOCAR dealing with Lowland Catchment Research. A descriptive and box model structure is provided to describe the key features of water quality variations in relation to soil, unsaturated and groundwater flows and storage both away from and close to the river. Keywords: water quality, nitrate, ammonium, phosphorus, pH, alkalinity, nutrients, major elements, trace elements, rainfall, river, Pang, Lambourn, LOCAR
Quantification of nitrate leaching from forest soils on a national scale in The Netherlands
Authors: Kros J. , Tietema A. , Mol-Dijkstra J. P. , de Vries W.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. To evaluate the effects of nitrogen (N) emission policies, reliable information on nitrate concentrations and leaching fluxes from forest ecosystems is necessary. Insight into the regional variability of nitrate concentrations, to support local policy on emission abatement strategies is especially desirable. In this paper, three methods for the calculation of a spatial distribution of soil nitrate concentrations in Dutch forest ecosystems are compared. These are (i) a regression model based on observed nitrate concentrations and additional data on explanatory variables such as soil type, tree species and nitrogen deposition (ii) a semi-empirical dynamic model WANDA, and (iii) a process-oriented dynamic model SMART2. These two dynamic models are frequently used to evaluate the effects of reductions in nitrogen deposition at scales ranging from regional to countrywide. The results of the regression model evaluated the performance of the two dynamic models. Furthermore, the results of the three methods are compared with the steady-state approach currently used for the derivation of nitrogen critical loads. Both dynamic models, in the form of cumulative distribution functions, give similar results on a national scale. Regional variability is predicted differently by both models. Discrepancies are caused mainly by a difference in handling forest filtering and denitrification. All three methods show that, despite the high nitrogen inputs, Dutch forests still accumulate more N than they release. This implies that, in respect of groundwater quality, presently acceptable nitrogen deposition is higher than the (long-term) critical loads. However, in areas with high atmospheric nitrogen input, all three methods indicate that the EU standard for nitrate in groundwater (50 mg NO3 l–1) is exceeded. Steady-state with nitrogen deposition seems to have been reached in about 10% of the forested area, with a nitrate concentration greater than 50 mg NO3–1. Keywords: soil modelling, up-scaling, model validation, critical load
Assessing nitrogen dynamics in European ecosystems, integrating measurement and modelling: conclusions
Authors: Wade A. J. , Neal C. , Butterfield D. , Futter M. N.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. This contribution closes this special issue of Hydrology and Earth System Sciences concerning the assessment of nitrogen dynamics in catchments across Europe within a semi-distributed Integrated Nitrogen model for multiple source assessment in Catchments (INCA). New developments in the understanding of the factors and processes determining the concentrations and loads of nitrogen are outlined. The ability of the INCA model to simulate the hydrological and nitrogen dynamics of different European ecosystems is assessed and the results of the first scenario analyses investigating the impacts of deposition, climatic and land-use change on the nitrogen dynamics are summarised. Consideration is given as to how well the model has performed as a generic tool for describing the nitrogen dynamics of European ecosystems across Arctic, Maritime, Continental and Mediterranean climates, its role in new research initiatives and future research requirements. Keywords: nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, phosphorus, catchments, streams, rivers, river basins
Can soil moisture be mapped onto the terrain?
Authors: Blyth E. M. , Finch J. , Robinson M. , Rosier P.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Soil moisture heterogeneity has an effect on the rainfall–runoff characteristics of a landscape. The aggregate effect on the mean water balance over an area can be quantified successfully using models such as the PDM (Moore, 1986) and TOPMODEL (Beven and Kirkby, 1979). These rainfall–runoff models have been embedded in the large-scale land surface schemes used in meteorological models. However, there is also a requirement (e.g. model validation) to identify the spatial structure of the fine-scale soil moisture heterogeneity that makes up these aggregate models. In some types of landscape, this will be dictated by topography, in others by soil characteristics, or by a combination of both. A method to distribute area-average soil moisture according to the likely effect of local topography is presented and tested. The heterogeneity of the soil moisture is described by the Xinanxiang distribution (Zhao et al., 1980), commonly used to describe the natural spatial heterogeneity of the landscape. This distribution is then mapped onto the terrain using a topographic index to locate the wettest and driest areas. Soil moisture data from the Wye catchment in Wales and from the Pang catchment in Berkshire, England, are used to test the method. It is found that soil moisture data from the Wye catchment follow the topographic index reasonably well, whereas data from the quick-draining, chalky Pang catchment do not. The conclusion that topographic index is a useful indicator only in some landscapes applies equally to using this mapping method and those models that use topographic index directly. Keywords: soil moisture, heterogeneity, topographic index, data
Generalisation for neural networks through data sampling and training procedures, with applications to streamflow predictions
Authors: Anctil F. , Lauzon N.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Since the 1990s, neural networks have been applied to many studies in hydrology and water resources. Extensive reviews on neural network modelling have identified the major issues affecting modelling performance; one of the most important is generalisation, which refers to building models that can infer the behaviour of the system under study for conditions represented not only in the data employed for training and testing but also for those conditions not present in the data sets but inherent to the system. This work compares five generalisation approaches: stop training, Bayesian regularisation, stacking, bagging and boosting. All have been tested with neural networks in various scientific domains; stop training and stacking having been applied regularly in hydrology and water resources for some years, while Bayesian regularisation, bagging and boosting have been less common. The comparison is applied to streamflow modelling with multi-layer perceptron neural networks and the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm as training procedure. Six catchments, with diverse hydrological behaviours, are employed as test cases to draw general conclusions and guidelines on the use of the generalisation techniques for practitioners in hydrology and water resources. All generalisation approaches provide improved performance compared with standard neural networks without generalisation. Stacking, bagging and boosting, which affect the construction of training sets, provide the best improvement from standard models, compared with stop-training and Bayesian regularisation, which regulate the training algorithm. Stacking performs better than the others although the benefit in performance is slight compared with bagging and boosting; furthermore, it is not consistent from one catchment to another. For a good combination of improvement and stability in modelling performance, the joint use of stop training or Bayesian regularisation with either bagging or boosting is recommended. Keywords: neural networks, generalisation, stacking, bagging, boosting, stop-training, Bayesian regularisation, streamflow modelling
Mixed rectangular pulses models of rainfall
Authors: Cowpertwait P. S. P.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A stochastic rainfall model, obtained as the superposition of independent Neyman-Scott Rectangular Pulses (NSRP), is proposed to provide a flexible parameterisation and general procedure for modelling rainfall. The methodology is illustrated using hourly data from Auckland, New Zealand, where the model is fitted to data collected for each calendar month over the period: 1966–1998. For data taken over the months April to August, two independent superposed NSRP processes are fitted, which may correspond to the existence of mixtures of convective and stratiform storm types for these months. The special case of the superposition of an independent NSRP process and a Poisson rectangular pulses process fits the data for January to March, whilst the original NSRP model (i.e. without superposition) fits the data for September to November. A simulation study verifies that the model performs well with respect to the distribution of annual totals, the proportion of dry periods, and extreme values. Keywords: stochastic processes; point processes; rainfall time series; Poisson cluster models
Soil moisture-runoff relation at the catchment scale as observed with coarse resolution microwave remote sensing
Authors: Scipal K. , Scheffler C. , Wagner W.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Microwave remote sensing offers emerging capabilities to monitor global hydrological processes. Instruments like the two dedicated soil moisture missions SMOS and HYDROS or the Advanced Scatterometer onboard METOP will provide a flow of coarse resolution microwave data, suited for macro-scale applications. Only recently, the scatterometer onboard of the European Remote Sensing Satellite, which is the precursor instrument of the Advanced Scatterometer, has been used successfully to derive soil moisture information at global scale with a spatial resolution of 50 km. Concepts of how to integrate macro-scale soil moisture data in hydrologic models are however still vague. In fact, the coarse resolution of the data provided by microwave radiometers and scatterometers is often considered to impede hydrological applications. Nevertheless, even if most hydrologic models are run at much finer scales, radiometers and scatterometers allow monitoring of atmosphere-induced changes in regional soil moisture patterns. This may prove to be valuable information for modelling hydrological processes in large river basins (>10 000 km2. In this paper, ERS scatterometer derived soil moisture products are compared to measured runoff of the Zambezi River in south-eastern Africa for several years (1992–2000). This comparison serves as one of the first demonstrations that there is hydrologic relevant information in coarse resolution satellite data. The observed high correlations between basin-averaged soil moisture and runoff time series (R2>0.85) demonstrate that the seasonal change from low runoff during the dry season to high runoff during the wet season is well captured by the ERS scatterometer. It can be expected that the high correlations are to a certain degree predetermined by the pronounced inter-annual cycle observed in the discharge behaviour of the Zambezi. To quantify this effect, time series of anomalies have been compared. This analysis showed that differences in runoff from year to year could, to some extent, be explained by soil moisture anomalies.
Chemical characterization of fog and rain water collected at the eastern Andes cordillera
Authors: Beiderwieden E. , Wrzesinsky T. , Klemm O.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. During a three month period in 2003 and 2004, the chemistry of fog and rainwater were studied at the "El Tiro" site in a tropical mountain forest ecosystem in Ecuador, South America. The fogwater samples were collected using a passive fog collector, and for the rain water, a standard rain sampler was employed. For all samples, electric conductivity, pH, and the concentrations of NH4+, K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, NO3−, PO43−, and SO42− were measured. For each fog sample, a 5 day back trajectory was calculated by the use of the HYSPLIT model. Two types of trajectories occurred. One type was characterized by advection of air masses from the East over the Amazonian basin, the other trajectory arrived one from the West after significant travel time over the Pacific Ocean. We found considerably higher ion concentrations in fogwater samples than in rain samples. Median pH values are 4.58 for fog water, and 5.26 for the rain samples, respectively. The median electric conductivity was 23 μS cm−1 for the fog and 6 μS cm−1 for the rain. The continent samples exhibit higher concentrations of most ions as compared to the pacific samples, but these differences could not be detected statistically.
Using a spatio-temporal dynamic state-space model with the EM algorithm to patch gaps in daily riverflow series
Authors: Amisigo B. A. , van de Giesen N. C.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A spatio-temporal linear dynamic model has been developed for patching short gaps in daily river runoff series. The model was cast in a state-space form in which the state variable was estimated using the Kalman smoother (RTS smoother). The EM algorithm was used to concurrently estimate both parameter and missing runoff values. Application of the model to daily runoff series in the Volta Basin of West Africa showed that the model was capable of providing good estimates of missing runoff values at a gauging station from the remaining time series at the station and at spatially correlated stations in the same sub-basin.
Comparative analysis of the actual evapotranspiration of Flemish forest and cropland, using the soil water balance model WAVE
Authors: Verstraeten W. W. , Muys B. , Feyen J. , Veroustraete F. , Minnaert M. , Meiresonne L. , De Schrijver A.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. This paper focuses on the quantification of the green – vegetation related – water flux of forest stands in the temperate lowland of Flanders. The underlying reason of the research was to develop a methodology for assessing the impact of forests on the hydrologic cycle in comparison to agriculture. The tested approach for calculating the water use by forests was based on the application of the soil water balance model WAVE. The study involved the collection of data from 14 forest stands, the calibration and validation of the WAVE model, and the comparison of the water use (WU) components – transpiration, soil and interception evaporation – between forest and cropland. For model calibration purposes simulated and measured time series of soil water content at different soil depths, period March 2000–August 2001, were compared. A multiple-site validation was conducted as well. Actual tree transpiration calculated with sap flow measurements in three forest stands gave similar results for two of the three stands of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), but WAVE overestimated the actual measured transpiration for a stand of poplar (Populus sp.). A useful approach to compare the WU components of forest versus cropland is scenario analysis based on the validated WAVE model. The statistical Profile Analysis method was implemented to explore and analyse the simulated WU time series. With an average annual rainfall of 819 mm, the results reveal that forests in Flanders consume more water than agricultural crops. A 30 years average of 491 mm for 10 forests stands versus 398 mm for 10 cropped agricultural fields was derived. The WU components, on yearly basis, also differ between the two land use types (transpiration: 315 mm for forest and 261 mm for agricultural land use; soil evaporation: 47 mm and 131 mm, for forest and cropland, respectively). Forest canopy interception evaporation was estimated at 126 mm, while it was negligible for cropland.
Rainfall-runoff modelling in a catchment with a complex groundwater flow system: application of the Representative Elementary Watershed (REW) approach
Authors: Zhang G. P. , Savenije H. H. G.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Based on the Representative Elementary Watershed (REW) approach, the modelling tool REWASH (Representative Elementary WAterShed Hydrology) has been developed and applied to the Geer river basin. REWASH is deterministic, semi-distributed, physically based and can be directly applied to the watershed scale. In applying REWASH, the river basin is divided into a number of sub-watersheds, so called REWs, according to the Strahler order of the river network. REWASH describes the dominant hydrological processes, i.e. subsurface flow in the unsaturated and saturated domains, and overland flow by the saturation-excess and infiltration-excess mechanisms. The coupling of surface and subsurface flow processes in the numerical model is realised by simultaneous computation of flux exchanges between surface and subsurface domains for each REW. REWASH is a parsimonious tool for modelling watershed hydrological response. However, it can be modified to include more components to simulate specific processes when applied to a specific river basin where such processes are observed or considered to be dominant. In this study, we have added a new component to simulate interception using a simple parametric approach. Interception plays an important role in the water balance of a watershed although it is often disregarded. In addition, a refinement for the transpiration in the unsaturated zone has been made. Finally, an improved approach for simulating saturation overland flow by relating the variable source area to both the topography and the groundwater level is presented. The model has been calibrated and verified using a 4-year data set, which has been split into two for calibration and validation. The model performance has been assessed by multi-criteria evaluation. This work represents a complete application of the REW approach to watershed rainfall-runoff modelling in a real watershed. The results demonstrate that the REW approach provides an alternative blueprint for physically based hydrological modelling.
Hydroclimatology of the Nile: results from a regional climate model
Authors: Mohamed Y. A. , van den Hurk B. J. J. M. , Savenije H. H. G. , Bastiaanssen W. G. M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. This paper presents the result of the regional coupled climatic and hydrologic model of the Nile Basin. For the first time the interaction between the climatic processes and the hydrological processes on the land surface have been fully coupled. The hydrological model is driven by the rainfall and the energy available for evaporation generated in the climate model, and the runoff generated in the catchment is again routed over the wetlands of the Nile to supply moisture for atmospheric feedback. The results obtained are quite satisfactory given the extremely low runoff coefficients in the catchment. The paper presents the validation results over the sub-basins: Blue Nile, White Nile, Atbara river, the Sudd swamps, and the Main Nile for the period 1995 to 2000. Observational datasets were used to evaluate the model results including radiation, precipitation, runoff and evaporation data. The evaporation data were derived from satellite images over a major part of the Upper Nile. Limitations in both the observational data and the model are discussed. It is concluded that the model provides a sound representation of the regional water cycle over the Nile. The sources of atmospheric moisture to the basin, and location of convergence/divergence fields could be accurately illustrated. The model is used to describe the regional water cycle in the Nile basin in terms of atmospheric fluxes, land surface fluxes and land surface-climate feedbacks. The monthly moisture recycling ratio (i.e. locally generated/total precipitation) over the Nile varies between 8 and 14%, with an annual mean of 11%, which implies that 89% of the Nile water resources originates from outside the basin physical boundaries. The monthly precipitation efficiency varies between 12 and 53%, and the annual mean is 28%. The mean annual result of the Nile regional water cycle is compared to that of the Amazon and the Mississippi basins.
Assessing the performance of eight real-time updating models and procedures for the Brosna River
Authors: Goswami M. , O'Connor K. M. , Bhattarai K. P. , Shamseldin A. Y.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The flow forecasting performance of eight updating models, incorporated in the Galway River Flow Modelling and Forecasting System (GFMFS), was assessed using daily data (rainfall, evaporation and discharge) of the Irish Brosna catchment (1207 km2), considering their one to six days lead-time discharge forecasts. The Perfect Forecast of Input over the Forecast Lead-time scenario was adopted, where required, in place of actual rainfall forecasts. The eight updating models were: (i) the standard linear Auto-Regressive (AR) model, applied to the forecast errors (residuals) of a simulation (non-updating) rainfall-runoff model; (ii) the Neural Network Updating (NNU) model, also using such residuals as input; (iii) the Linear Transfer Function (LTF) model, applied to the simulated and the recently observed discharges; (iv) the Non-linear Auto-Regressive eXogenous-Input Model (NARXM), also a neural network-type structure, but having wide options of using recently observed values of one or more of the three data series, together with non-updated simulated outflows, as inputs; (v) the Parametric Simple Linear Model (PSLM), of LTF-type, using recent rainfall and observed discharge data; (vi) the Parametric Linear perturbation Model (PLPM), also of LTF-type, using recent rainfall and observed discharge data, (vii) n-AR, an AR model applied to the observed discharge series only, as a naïve updating model; and (viii) n-NARXM, a naive form of the NARXM, using only the observed discharge data, excluding exogenous inputs. The five GFMFS simulation (non-updating) models used were the non-parametric and parametric forms of the Simple Linear Model and of the Linear Perturbation Model, the Linearly-Varying Gain Factor Model, the Artificial Neural Network Model, and the conceptual Soil Moisture Accounting and Routing (SMAR) model. As the SMAR model performance was found to be the best among these models, in terms of the Nash-Sutcliffe R2 value, both in calibration and in verification, the simulated outflows of this model only were selected for the subsequent exercise of producing updated discharge forecasts. All the eight forms of updating models for producing lead-time discharge forecasts were found to be capable of producing relatively good lead-1 (1-day ahead) forecasts, with R2 values almost 90% or above. However, for higher lead time forecasts, only three updating models, viz., NARXM, LTF, and NNU, were found to be suitable, with lead-6 values of R2 about 90% or higher. Graphical comparisons were made of the lead-time forecasts for the two largest floods, one in the calibration period and the other in the verification period.
An empirical method for estimating future flood risks for flood warnings
Authors: Hlavcova H. , Kohnova S. , Kubes R. , Szolgay J. , Zvolensky M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Since medium and long-term precipitation forecasts are still not reliable enough, rough estimates of the degree of the extremity of forthcoming flood events that might occur in the course of dangerous meteorological situations approaching a basin could be useful to decision-makers as additional information for flood warnings. One approach to answering such a problem is to use real-time data on the soil moisture conditions in a catchment in conjunction with estimates of the extremity of the future rainfall and experience with the basin's behaviour during historical floods. A scenario-based method is proposed for such a future flood risk estimation, based on an a priori evaluation of the extremity of hypothetical floods generated by combinations of synthetic extreme precipitation and previously observed antecedent pre-flood basin saturations. The Hron river basin, located in central Slovakia, was chosen as the pilot basin in the case study. A time series of the basin's average daily precipitation was derived using spatial interpolation techniques. A lumped HBV-type daily conceptual rainfall-runoff model was adopted for modelling runoff. Analysis of the relationship of the modelled historical pre-flood soil moisture and flood causing-precipitation revealed the independence of both quantities for rainfall durations lasting 1 to 5 days. The basin's average annual maximum 1 to 5 day precipitation depths were analysed statistically and synthetic extreme precipitation scenarios associated with rainfall depths with return periods of 5, 20, 50 and 100 years, durations of 1 to 5 days and temporal distribution of extreme rainfall observed in the past were set up for runoff simulation. Using event-based flood simulations, synthetic flood waves were generated for random combinations of the rainfall scenarios and historical pre-flood soil moisture conditions. The effect of any antecedent basin saturation on the extremity of floods was quantified empirically and critical values of the basin saturation leading to floods with a higher return period than the return period of precipitation were identified. A method for implementing such critical values into flood risk warnings in a hydrological forecasting and warning system in the basin was suggested.
Resolving conflicting objectives in the management of the Plastiras Lake: can we quantify beauty?
Authors: Christofides A. , Efstratiadis A. , Koutsoyiannis D. , Sargentis G.-F. , Hadjibiros K.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The possible water management of the Plastiras Lake, an artificial reservoir in central Greece, is examined. The lake and surrounding landscape are aesthetically degraded when the water level drops, and the requirement of maintaining a high quality of the scenery constitutes one of the several conflicting water uses, the other ones being irrigation, water supply, and power production. This environmental water use, and, to a lesser extent, the requirement for adequate water quality, results in constraining the annual release. Thus, the allowed fluctuation of reservoir stage is not defined by the physical and technical characteristics of the reservoir, but by a multi-criteria decision, the three criteria being maximising water release, ensuring adequate water quality, and maintaining a high quality of the natural landscape. Each of these criteria is analyzed separately. The results are then put together in a multicriterion tableau, which helps understand the implications of the possible alternative decisions. Several conflict resolution methods are overviewed, namely willingness to pay, hedonic prices, and multi-criteria decision analysis. All these methods attempt to quantify non-quantifiable qualities, and it is concluded that they don't necessarily offer any advantage over merely making a choice based on understanding.
Multi-objective calibration of the land surface scheme TERRA/LM using LITFASS-2003 data
Authors: Johnsen K.-P. , Mengelkamp H.-T. , Huneke S.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes simulated in the operational weather forecast model LM have been checked with data from the field experiment LITFASS 2003 (Lindenberg Inhomogeneous Terrain - Fluxes between Atmosphere and Surface: a Long-term Study) using both single site measurements and grid box aggregated fluxes. SCE-UA (single objective) and MOSCEM-UA (multi-objective) approaches were applied to calibrate the land-surface scheme TERRA/LM for 11 single sites and for the aggregated fluxes. A large variation is seen among the parameter sets found by calibration but no typical classification according to vegetation type is obvious. This is attributed to the calibrated parameter sets correcting for model deficiencies and data errors rather than describing the physical characteristics of the measurement site. The measured fluxes were combined into a time series of aggregated fluxes by the tile method. Calibration of TERRA/LM with respect to the averaged fluxes resulted in a range of parameter sets which all simulated the area-averaged fluxes in much better agreement with the observed fluxes than the standard parameter set of the operational model. A modified Nash-Sutcliffe measure as a coincidence criterion fell from 0.3 to a range between 0.15 and 0.28 for the latent heat flux and from 0.43 to between 0.26 and 0.36 for the sensible heat flux when the calibrated parameter sets were used instead of the standard parameters.
Flux measurements in the near surface layer over a non-uniform crop surface in China
Authors: Gao Z. , Bian L. , Liu S.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Eddy covariance measurements were conducted on fluxes of moisture, heat and CO2 in a near-surface layer over a non-uniform crop surface in an agricultural ecosystem in the central plain of China from 10 June to 20 July 2002. During this period, the mean canopy height was about 0.50 m. The study site consisted of grass (10% of area), bean (15%), corn (15%) and rice (60%). Based on footprint analysis, we expected >90% of the measured flux (at a height of 4 m above ground surface) to occur within the nearest 600 m of upwind area. We examined interdiurnal variations in the components of the surface energy balance and in CO2 flux. Results show that the pattern of energy partition had no obvious variation during the season. Daytime absorption of CO2 flux by the crop canopy suddenly increased after thunderstorm events. We examined the energy budget closure and found it to be around 0.85. We compared energy partitioning for all rain-free days, and found energy imbalance was more significant for the 1~3 days after rainy events and energy components almost achieve balance for the other rain-free days. It indicated that the cold or warm rainwater infiltrating into soil made problems.
Do effective properties for unsaturated weakly layered porous media exist? An experimental study.
Authors: Bayer A. , Vogel H.-J. , Ippisch O. , Roth K.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. In a multi-step outflow experiment we found that a weak heterogeneity within a sand column prevents the estimated effective hydraulic parameters from being objective. We compared vertical water content profiles calculated from these parameters with profiles measured by X-ray attenuation. A layered material model based on X-ray data was able to reproduce the outflow curve and also the internal behavior of the column. We also calculated effective parameters for the heterogeneous model turned upside down and obtained large differences to the set of values of the original sample.
Hydrological response to different time scales of climatological drought: an evaluation of the standardized precipitation index in a mountainous mediterranean basin
Authors: S. M. Vicente-Serrano  , J. I. López-Moreno
Published: April 2010

Abstract. At present, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is the most widely used drought index to provide good estimations about the intensity, magnitude and spatial extent of droughts. The main advantage of the SPI in comparison with other indices is the fact that the SPI enables both determination of drought conditions at different time scales and monitoring of different drought types. It is widely accepted that SPI time scales affect different sub-systems in the hydrological cycle due to the fact that the response of the different water usable sources to precipitation shortages can be very different. The long time scales of SPI are related to hydrological droughts (river flows and reservoir storages). Nevertheless, few analyses empirically verify these statements or the usefulness of the SPI time scales to monitor drought. In this paper, the SPI at different time scales is compared with surface hydrological variables in a big closed basin located in the central Spanish Pyrenees. We provide evidence about the way in which the higher (>12 months) SPI time scales may not be useful for drought quantification in this area. In general, the surface flows respond to short SPI time scales whereas the reservoir storages respond to higher time scales (7–10 months). Nevertheless, important seasonal differences can be identified in the SPI-usable water sources relationships. This suggests that it is necessary to test the drought indices and time scales in relation to their usefulness for monitoring different drought types under different environmental conditions and water demand situations.
Parameter sensitivity to climate and landscape variability of a simple, lumped salt and water balance model
Authors: Bari M. A. , Smettem K. R. J.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A salt and water balance model is developed to represent salinity generation following land use changes in Western Australia. The model consists of five interconnecting stores: (i) Dry, Wet and Subsurface unsaturated Stores, (ii) a transient Stream zone Store and (iii) a saturated Groundwater Store. The salinity generation process in Western Australia is highly dependent on annual rainfall, potential energy for evaporation, salt fall and land use history of a catchment. We selected six experimental catchments with different land use histories across a climatic gradient to test the model and assess parameter sensitivity. The model was successful in representing the streamflow and salinity generation processes of all catchments. In the process of application, we classified the model parameters into three sets: (i) "known", (ii) "fixed" and (iii) "variable". The "known" parameter set is calculated a priori from catchment attributes. The "fixed" set comprises regionalised parameters that remain unchanged across all catchments once calibrated in one catchment. The "variable" set of seven physically meaningful parameters were calibrated at one catchment, estimated a priori for other catchments and then subsequently adjusted for best fit. The "variable" set represents: (i) the depth (d), spatial distribution (b, c), relationship of the lateral hydraulic conductivity with moisture content (ia) and vertical conductivity (Kuv) of the top soil, (ii) lateral conductivity (Kll) of the groundwater system, and (iii) salt release (Cu) from top soil. Sensitivity analyses of key model parameters show that the relationship of the top soil lateral hydraulic conductivity with soil moisture content (ia) is the most sensitive parameter. Other sensitive parameters include the depth of the top soil and its spatial distribution (d, b, c).
Efficient reconstruction of dispersive dielectric profiles using time domain reflectometry (TDR)
Authors: Leidenberger P. , Oswald B. , Roth K.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. We present a numerical model for time domain reflectometry (TDR) signal propagation in dispersive dielectric materials. The numerical probe model is terminated with a parallel circuit, consisting of an ohmic resistor and an ideal capacitance. We derive analytical expressions for the capacitance, the inductance and the conductance of three-wire probes. We couple the time domain model with global optimization in order to reconstruct water content profiles from TDR traces. For efficiently solving the inverse problem we use genetic algorithms combined with a hierarchical parameterization. We investigate the performance of the method by reconstructing synthetically generated profiles. The algorithm is then applied to retrieve dielectric profiles from TDR traces measured in the field. We succeed in reconstructing dielectric and ohmic profiles where conventional methods, based on travel time extraction, fail.
Scale invariance of daily runoff time series in agricultural watersheds
Authors: Zhou X. , Persaud N. , Wang H.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Fractal scaling behavior of long-term records of daily runoff time series in 32 sub-watersheds covering a wide range of size were examined using the shifted box-counting method and Hurst rescaled range (R/S) analysis. These sub-watersheds were associated with four agricultural watersheds of different climate and topography. The results showed that the records of daily runoff rate exhibited scale invariance over certain time scales. Two scaling ranges were identified from the shifted box-counting plots with a break point at about 12 months. The Hurst R/S analysis showed that the runoff time series displayed strong long-term persistence which dissipated after 15~18 months. The same fractal dimensions and Hurst exponents were obtained for the sub-watersheds within each watershed, indicating that the runoff of these sub-watersheds have similar distribution of occurrence and similar long-term memory. The existence of scale invariance in runoff time series from agricultural watersheds may have implications for extrapolating observations from gauged to ungauged watersheds.
Analysis of the runoff response of an Alpine catchment at different scales
Authors: Zillgens B. , Merz B. , Kirnbauer R. , Tilch N.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. To understand how hydrological processes are related across different spatial scales, 201 rainfall runoff events were examined in three nested catchments of the upper river Saalach in the Austrian Alps. The Saalach basin is a nested catchment covering different spatial scales, from the micro-scale (Limberg, 0.07 km2), to the small-catchment scale (Rammern, 15.5 km2), and the meso-scale (Viehhofen, 150 km2). At these three scales two different event types could clearly be identified, depending on rainfall characteristics and initial baseflow level: (1) a unimodal event type with a quick rising and falling hydrograph, responding to short duration rainfall, and (2) a bimodal event type with a double peak hydrograph at the micro-scale and substantially increased flow values at the larger basins Rammern and Viehhofen, responding to long duration rainfall events. In all cases where a bimodal event was identified at the microscale, the hydrographs at the larger scales exhibited significantly attenuated recession behavior, quantified by recession constants. At all scales, the bimodal events are associated with considerably higher runoff volumes than the unimodal events. From the investigations at the headwater Limberg we came to the conclusion that the higher amount of runoff of bimodal events is due to the mobilization of subsurface flow processes. The analysis shows that the occurrence of the two event types is consistent over three orders of magnitude in area. This link between the scales means that the runoff behavior of the headwater may be used as an indicator of the runoff behavior of much larger areas.
Modeling and measurement of two-layer-canopy interception losses in a subtropical mixed forest of central-south China
Authors: Zhang G. , Zeng G. M. , Jiang Y. M. , Huang G. H. , Li J. B. , Yao J. M. , Tan W. , Xiang R. J. , Zhang X. L.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The original Gash analytical model and the sparse Gash's model have been applied to simulate rainfall interception losses from the two canopy layers in Shaoshan forest of central-south China during 2003. The total estimated interception loss from the two canopy layers is 478.4 mm with an error of 12.4 mm or 2.7% of total measured interception loss (466.0 mm). Both the original Gash model for top-canopy interception loss and the sparse model for sub-canopy loss overestimate interception losses. The simulated results show that the interception losses in top-canopy is 182.6 mm with an overestimation of 4.9% of measured losses and that in sub-canopy is 295.8 mm with an overestimation of 1.3%. The simulated values of the top-canopy suggest that 47% of the simulated interception losses are evaporated in the stage of "during storms" and 38% in "after storms", which is similar to the published results in temperate and tropical forests. However, the modelled losses from the sub-canopy show that 17% of interception losses are evaporated in "during storms" and 70% in "after storms", which is deviated from the reported results. The simulated results of two canopy interception losses in Shaoshan forest indicate that canopy structures may strongly impact hydrological fluxes in forested ecosystems.
Stratified analysis of satellite imagery of SW Europe during summer 2003: the differential response of vegetation classes to increased water deficit
Authors: Lobo A. , Maisongrande P.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The extraordinarily warm and dry summer experienced in SW Europe in 2003 provides an interesting case study for the analysis of the response of regional-scale vegetation variables to drier and hotter conditions. SW Europe includes a boundary between phytogeographic and climatic regions (Oceanic and Mediterranean) that differ in terms of summer precipitation, which let us compare the response of different vegetation types. In addition, some scenarios predict summer conditions such as those of 2003 to be common by the latter decades of the 21st century in this region. We have analyzed a monthly series of regional fields of normalized difference vegetation index from the VEGETATION-SPOT5 instrument, from 1999 to 2003. We show that negative anomalies of vegetation index in summer 2003 were larger for herbaceous vegetation of the Oceanic climate region and for deciduous forests. The vegetation index of August 2003 in the Mediterranean climate region was also significantly lower than normal values in August 1999–2002, albeit the anomalies were small in absolute value. We compared August NDVI, as a measure of the vegetation response, to the difference between total summer precipitation and total summer potential evapotranspiration, as a measure of atmospheric water stress. Our results indicate that water stress is a major factor structuring the geographic variability of NDVI in this region. In accordance with these results, the analysis of the data of 2003 indicate that the increased water stress was a key factor of the observed anomalies of vegetation index.