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Nearby catchments in the same landscape are often assumed to have similar specific discharge (runoff per unit catchment area). Five years of streamflow from 14 nested catchments in a 68 km2 landscape was used to test this assumption, with the hypothesis that the spatial variability in specific discharge is smaller than the uncertainties in the measurement. The median spatial variability of specific discharge, defined as subcatchment deviation from the catchment outlet, was 33% at the daily scale. This declined to 24% at a monthly scale and 19% at an annual scale. These specific discharge differences are on the same order of magnitude as predicted for major land-use conversions or a century of climate change. Spatial variability remained when considering uncertainties in specific discharge, and systematic seasonal patterns in specific discharge variation further provide confidence that these differences are more than just errors in the analysis of catchment area, rainfall variability or gauging. Assuming similar specific discharge in nearby catchments can thus lead to spurious conclusions about the effects of disturbance on hydrological and biogeochemical processes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional approaches aiming at protecting surface waters from the negative impacts of forestry often focus on retaining fixed width buffer zones around waterways. While this method is relatively simple to design and implement, it has been criticized for ignoring the spatial heterogeneity of biogeochemical processes and biodiversity in the riparian zone. Alternatively, a variable width buffer zone adapted to site-specific hydrological conditions has been suggested to improve the protection of biogeochemical and ecological functions of the riparian zone. However, little is known about the monetary value of maintaining hydrologically adapted buffer zones compared to the traditionally used fixed width ones. In this study, we created a hydrologically adapted buffer zone by identifying wet areas and groundwater discharge hotspots in the riparian zone. The opportunity cost of the hydrologically adapted riparian buffer zones was then compared to that of the fixed width zones in a meso-scale boreal catchment to determine the most economical option of designing riparian buffers. The results show that hydrologically adapted buffer zones were cheaper per hectare than the fixed width ones when comparing the total cost. This was because the hydrologically adapted buffers included more wetlands and low productive forest areas than the fixed widths. As such, the hydrologically adapted buffer zones allows more effective protection of the parts of the riparian zones that are ecologically and biogeochemically important and more sensitive to disturbances without forest landowners incurring any additional cost than fixed width buffers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we combined a multimodel ensemble based on 15 regional climate models with a multicatchment approach to explore the hydrologic sensitivity of 14 neighboring and rather similar catchments to changing climate conditions. Current (1982-2010) and future (2062-2090) streamflow was simulated with the HBV model. A diagnostic approach was used, which considered major behavioral catchment functions by using hydrologically relevant signatures related to overall water balance, flow duration curves and hydrograph attributes. Projected increases in temperature and precipitation resulted in increased total available streamflow, with lower spring and summer flows, but substantially higher winter streamflow. Furthermore, significant changes in flow durations with lower chances of both high and low flows can be expected in boreal Sweden in the future. This overall trend in projected streamflow pattern changes was comparable among the analyzed catchments but the magnitude of change differed considerably. This suggests that catchments belonging to the same region can show distinctly different degrees of hydrological responses to the same external climate change signal. We reason that differences in spatially distributed physical catchment properties within catchments are not only of great importance for current streamflow behavior, but also play a major role in the sensitivity of catchments to changing climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boreal streams are under pressure from large scale disturbance by forestry. Recent scenarios predict an increase in forest production in Scandinavia to meet market demands and to mitigate higher anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Increased fertilization and shorter forest rotations are anticipated which will likely enhance the pressure on boreal streams in the near future. Among the major environmental impacts of forest harvesting is the increased mobilization of inorganic nitrogen (N), primarily as nitrate (NO3-) into surface waters. But whereas NO3- inputs to first-order streams have been previously described, their downstream fate and impact is not well understood. We evaluated the downstream fate of N inputs in a boreal landscape that has been altered by forest harvests over a 10 year period to estimate the effects of multiple clear-cuts on aquatic N export in a boreal stream network. Small streams showed substantial leaching of NO3- in response to harvests with concentrations increasing by ~ 15 fold. NO3- concentrations at two sampling stations further downstream in the network were strongly seasonal and increased significantly in response to harvesting at the medium size, but not at the larger stream. Nitrate removal efficiency, Er, calculated as the percentage of "forestry derived" NO3- that was retained within the landscape using a mass balance model was highest during the snow melt season followed by the growing season, but declined continuously throughout the dormant season. In contrast, export of organic N from the landscape indicated little removal and was essentially conservative. Overall, net removal of NO3- between 2008 and 2011 accounted for ~ 70% of the total NO3- mass exported from harvested patches distributed across the landscape. These results highlight the capacity and limitation of N-limited terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to buffer inorganic N mobilization that arises from multiple clear-cuts within meso-scale boreal watersheds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable isotopes of water are one of the most widely used tools to track the pathways of precipitation inputs to streams. In the past, soils have often been treated as black-boxes through which precipitation is routed to streams without much consideration of how, when, and where water is transported along soil and groundwater flow paths. Here, we use time series of stable isotopes (18O) in precipitation, soil/groundwater, and stream water to evaluate how landscape structure and heterogeneity influence seasonal hydrological patterns characteristic of boreal headwater catchments. To do this, we collected water throughout a full year at three adjacent catchments draining forest, mire, and mire/lake ecosystems within the Krycklan Experimental Catchment of northern Sweden. Isotope time series from forest and mire groundwater piezometers showed spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the dominant hydrologic flow pathways connecting precipitation to stream flow at different sites. The isotopic signature of stream water suggested strong connections to the dominant landscape elements within each catchment. These connections translated into greater temporal variability in the isotopic response of streams draining lake and wetland patches, and a much more attenuated pattern in the forest-dominated catchment. Overall, seasonal changes in the isotopic composition of streams and groundwater illustrate how differences in landscape structure result in variable hydrological patterns in the boreal landscape. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Headwater streams export CO2 as lateral downstream export and vertical evasion from the stream surface. CO2 in boreal headwater streams generally originates from adjacent terrestrial areas, so determining the sources and rate of CO2 transport along the hillslope-riparian-stream continuum could improve estimates of CO2 export via the aquatic pathway, especially by quantifying evasion at higher temporal resolutions. Continuous measurements of dissolved CO2 concentrations and water table were made along the hillslope-riparian-stream continuum in the Västrabäcken sub-catchment of the Krycklan catchment, Sweden. Daily water and CO2 export from the hillslope and riparian zone were estimated over one hydrological year (October 2012-September 2013) using a flow-concentration model and compared with measured lateral downstream CO2 export. Total water export over the hydrological year from the hillslope was 230 mm yr-1 compared with 270 mm yr-1 from the riparian zone. This corresponds well (proportional to the relative upslope contributing area) to the annual catchment runoff of 265 mm yr-1. Total CO2 export from the riparian zone to the stream was 3.0 gCO2-Cm-2 yr-1. A hotspot for riparian CO2 export was observed at 30-50 cm depth (accounting for 71% of total riparian export). Seasonal variability was high with export peaks during the spring flood and autumn storm events. Downstream lateral CO2 export (determined from stream water dissolved CO2 concentrations and discharge) was 1.2 gCO2-Cm-2 yr-1. Subtracting downstream lateral export from riparian export (3.0 gCO2- Cm-2 yr-1) gives 1.8 gCO2-Cm-2 yr-1 which can be attributed to evasion losses (accounting for 60% of export via the aquatic pathway). The results highlight the importance of terrestrial CO2 export, especially from the riparian zone, for determining catchment aquatic CO2 losses and the importance of the CO2 evasion component to carbon export via the aquatic conduit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Headwater streams export CO2 as lateral downstream export and vertical evasion from the stream surface. CO2 in boreal headwater streams generally originates from adjacent terrestrial areas, so determining the sources and rate of CO2 transport along the hillslope-riparian-stream continuum could improve estimates of CO2 export via the aquatic pathway, especially by quantifying evasion at higher temporal resolutions. Continuous measurements of dissolved CO2 concentrations and water table were made along the hillslope-riparian-stream continuum in the Västrabäcken sub-catchment of the Krycklan Catchment, Sweden. Daily water and CO2 export from the hillslope and riparian zone were estimated over one hydrological year (October 2012-September 2013) using a flow-concentration model and compared with measured lateral downstream CO2 export. Total water export over the hydrological year from the hillslope was 230mmyr-1 compared with 270mmyr-1 from the riparian zone. This corresponds well (proportional to the relative upslope contributing area) to the annual catchment runoff of 265mmyr-1. Total CO2 export from the riparian zone to the stream was 3.0 gCO2-C m-2 yr-1. A hotspot for riparian CO2 export was observed at 30-50 cm depth (accounting for 71%of total riparian export). Seasonal variability was high with export peaks during the spring flood and autumn storm events. Downtream lateral CO2 export (determined from stream water dissolved CO2 concentrations and discharge) was 1.2 gCO2-C m-2 yr-1. Subtracting downstream lateral export from riparian export (3.0 gCO2-Cm-2 yr-1) gives 1.8 gCO2-Cm-2 yr-1 which can be attributed to evasion losses (accounting for 60% of export via the aquatic pathway). The results highlight the importance of terrestrial CO2 export, especially from the riparian zone, for determining catchment aquatic CO2 losses and the importance of the CO2 evasion component to carbon export via the aquatic conduit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the implications of changes in the annual water balance and seasonal streamflow distribution for water quality and in-stream ecology in northern regions. An overview of how hydrological processes in northern catchments will be affected by changes in magnitude, timing and phase of precipitation, along with changing temperatures is presented. It describes the role of vegetation in the dynamics of change in water balance in catchments using the Budyko model.

The boreal landscape is a complex, spatio-temporally varying mosaic of forest and mire landscape elements that control surface water hydrology and chemistry. Here, we assess long-term water quality time-series from three nested headwater streams draining upland forest (C2), peat/mire (C4) and mixed (C7) (forest and mire) catchments. Temporal trends in weather and runoff (1981-2008); dissolved organic carbon concentration [DOC] (1993-2010) and other water quality parameters (1987-2011) were assessed. There was no significant annual trend in precipitation or runoff but a significant monotonic increasing trend existed in air temperature and length of growing season. Stream [DOC] was positively correlated with some trace metals (copper, iron and zinc) and negatively with several other chemical parameters (e.g. sulfate, conductivity, calcium). Both sulfate and conductivity showed declining trends, while a significant increase was observed in pH during winter and spring. Calcium and magnesium showed monotonic decreasing trends. The declining trajectories of stream base cation and sulfate concentrations during other times of the year were not accompanied by changes in pH and alkalinity. Water temperature increased significantly both annually and in most months while iron and DOC concentrations showed significant increases in autumn months. Though all streams showed significant positive trends in [DOC] in autumn, only C2 had a significant annual increasing trend. There was also a shift in the magnitude of variability in spring [DOC] and increasing trend of summer baseflow [DOC] in C2 and C7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one on the storage distribution in a heterogeneous catchment, one on the individual hill-slope representativeness within a meso-scale catchment in central Japan, and one on the formulation of a model for soil infiltration rate calculation.

The author focuses on the impact of technological-driven improvements in data collection methods on the development of hydrology as a geoscience. Emerging issues regarding the new approaches to data collection aid process conceptualization are discussed. It mentions the ability of light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) to resolve catchment land surfaces scale of a few centimeters in Data Traffic Management System (DTMS) and real-time characterization of inputs in weather radar. Information on the model-guided data collection and mining existing data sets is presented.

The authors discovered an error in the discharge calculation for the mire outlet stream (MC4) that led to an underestimation of nitrogen (N) export from this catchment. This error has no influence on the overall message or conclusions of the paper but does suggest even greater relative N losses from the mire-dominated catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Understanding how water moves through catchments – from the time it enters as precipitation to when it exits via streamflow – is of fundamental importance to understanding hydrological and biogeochemical processes. A basic descriptor of this routing is the Transit Time Distribution (TTD) which is derived from the input–output behavior of conservative tracers, the mean of which represents the average time elapsed between water molecules entering and exiting a flow system. In recent decades, many transit time studies have been conducted, but few of these have focused on snow-dominated catchments. We assembled a 10-year time series of isotopic data (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) for precipitation and stream water to estimate the characteristics of the transit time distribution in a boreal catchment in northern Sweden. We applied lumped parameter models using a gamma distribution to calculate the Mean Transit Time (MTT) of water over the entire period of record and to evaluate how inter-annual differences in transit times relate to hydroclimatic variability. The best fit MTT for the complete 10-year period was 650 days (Nash–Sutcliff Efficiency = 0.65), while the best fit inter-annual MTT ranged from 300 days up to 1200 days. Whilst there was a weak negative correlation between mean annual total precipitation and the annual MTT, this relationship was stronger ( r 2 = 0.53, p = 0.02) for the annual rain water input. This strong connection between the MTT and annual rainfall, rather than snowmelt, has strong implications for understanding future hydrological and biogeochemical processes in boreal regions, given that predicted warmer winters would translate into a greater proportion of precipitation falling as rain and thus shorter MTT in catchments. Such a change could have direct implications for the export of solutes and pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We investigated the effects of forest clear-cutting on snow accumulation, melt dynamics and associated stream responses in a paired catchment experiment in northern Sweden. Two boreal first-order streams, of which one was clear-cut harvested in 2006, were compared during the 2005–2011 study period. Clear-cutting increased snow accumulation expressed as snow water equivalents (SWEs) on average by 29mm (27%). Further snow melt occurred earlier in the clear-cut resulting in more rapid stream responses of the harvested catchment during some, but not all years (2008, 2009 and 2010). Snowmelt runoff increased by 39% and 27% in the clear-cut (reference=144mm and 121mm) during 2008 and 2009, respectively, whereas no significant difference in runoff was observed during spring 2010 and 2011. The results indicate that stream responses to snowmelt, primarily governed by sensible heat transfer through air temperature, radiation and turbulent heat fluxes, are controlled by three main processes: (i) interception in the forest canopy, reducing SWE; (ii) sublimation directly from the snowpack; and (iii) additional losses of melt water as, for example, evaporation during the melt. The year-to-year variation in these processes determines the stream response to clear-cutting during snowmelt. Overall this study underlines the large inter-annual variation in spring snowmelt responses of managed boreal catchments, which may have hydrological and biochemical implications for downstream locations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Topography is often one of the major controls on the spatial pattern of saturated areas, which in turn is a key to understanding much of the variability in soils, hydrological processes, and stream water quality. The topographic wetness index (TWI) has become a widely used tool to describe wetness conditions at the catchment scale. With this index, however, it is assumed that groundwater gradients always equal surface gradients. To overcome this limitation, we suggest deriving wetness indices based on simulations of distributed catchment models. We compared these new indices with the TWI and evaluated the different indices by their capacity to predict spatial patterns of saturated areas. Results showed that the model-derived wetness indices predicted the spatial distribution of wetlands significantly better than the TWI. These results encourage the use of a dynamic distributed hydrological model to derive wetness index maps for hydrological landscape analysis in catchments with topographically driven groundwater tables. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Uses tracer-aided models to estimate storage dynamics in inter-catchment comparison. • Storage needed to reproduce tracer dynamics is much higher than dynamic storage. • Phase space diagrams are useful to compare distinctive features of storage dynamics. • Hydrological connectivity generates non-linear surface runoff under high storage. • Evidence for inverse storage effect with younger water in streams at high storage. Water storage dynamics modulate fluxes within catchments, control the rainfall-runoff response and regulate the velocity of water particles through mixing associated processes. Tracer-aided models are useful tools for tracking the interactions between catchment storage and fluxes, as they can capture both the celerity of the runoff response and the velocity of water particles revealed by tracer dynamics. The phase-space reconstruction of modelled systems can help in this regard; it traces the evolution of a dynamic system from a known initial state as phase trajectories in response to inputs. In this study, we compared the modelled storage-flux dynamics obtained from the application of a spatially distributed tracer-aided hydrological model (STARR) in five contrasting long-term research catchments with varying degrees of snow influence. The models were calibrated using a consistent multivariate methodology based on discharge, isotope composition and snowpack water equivalent. Analysis of extracted modelled storage dynamics gave insights into the system functioning. Large volumes of total stored water needed to be invoked at most sites to reconcile celerity and travel times to match observe discharge and isotope responses. This is because changes in dynamic storage from water balance considerations are small when compared to volume of storage necessary for observed tracer dampening. In the phase-space diagrams, the rates of storage change gave insights into the relative storage volume and seasonal catchment functioning. The storage increase was dominated by hydroclimatic inputs; thus, it presented a stochastic response. Furthermore, depending on the dominance of snow or rainfall inputs, catchments had different seasonal responses in storage dynamics. Decreases in storage were more predictable and reflected the efficiency of catchment drainage, yet at lower storages the influence of ET was also evident. Activation of flow paths due to overland and near-surface flows resulted in non-linearity of catchment functioning largely at high storage states. The storage-discharge relationships generally showed a non-linear distribution, with more scattered states during wettest condition. In turn, all the catchments exhibited an inverse storage effect, with modelled water ages decreasing with increasing storage as lateral flow paths were activated. Insights from this inter-comparison of storage-flux-age dynamics show the benefits of tracer-aided hydrological models in exploring their interactions at well-instrumented sites to better understand hydrological functioning of contrasting catchments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]