Streamflow response to increasing precipitation extremes altered by forest management

Increases in extreme precipitation events of floods and droughts are expected to occur worldwide. The increase in extreme events will result in changes in streamflow that are expected to affect water availability for human consumption and aquatic ecosystem function. We present an analysis that may g...

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Published inGeophysical research letters Vol. 43; no. 8; pp. 3727 - 3736
Main Authors Kelly, Charlene N., McGuire, Kevin J., Miniat, Chelcy Ford, Vose, James M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 28.04.2016
Subjects
Aquatic ecosystems
Atmospheric precipitations
Availability
Climate
Climate change
Climate effects
Consumption
Conversion
Drought
Ecological function
extreme precipitation
Extreme values
Extreme weather
Flood management
Floods
flow regime
Forest harvesting
Forest management
Hydrologic models
Hydrology
Precipitation
Precipitation trends
Stream discharge
Stream flow
streamflow
Streamflow models
Vegetation
Water
Water availability
Water runoff
Watersheds
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Summary:Increases in extreme precipitation events of floods and droughts are expected to occur worldwide. The increase in extreme events will result in changes in streamflow that are expected to affect water availability for human consumption and aquatic ecosystem function. We present an analysis that may greatly improve current streamflow models by quantifying the impact of the interaction between forest management and precipitation. We use daily long‐term data from paired watersheds that have undergone forest harvest or species conversion. We find that interactive effects of climate change, represented by changes in observed precipitation trends, and forest management regime, significantly alter expected streamflow most often during extreme events, ranging from a decrease of 59% to an increase of 40% in streamflow, depending upon management. Our results suggest that vegetation might be managed to compensate for hydrologic responses due to climate change to help mitigate effects of extreme changes in precipitation. Key Points Streamflow is altered by increasing incidence of extreme precipitation events and forest land management We quantify changes in streamflow due to the interaction between forest management and precipitation Interaction between forest management and precipitation suggests alteration of streamflow at low and high flows
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ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1002/2016GL068058