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Small inland surface waters disproportionately affect watershed processes: insights from multiple models
Citation:
Golden, H., G. Evenson, D. Mahoney, A. Rajib, J. Christensen, C. Lane, AND Q. Wu. Small inland surface waters disproportionately affect watershed processes: insights from multiple models. ICRW8 (Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds), Corvallis, OR, June 05 - 08, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Inlands wetlands and headwater streams are foundational to attenuating potential floods, droughts, and poor water quality conditions in watersheds across the United States and worldwide. Here, we present multiple process-based modeling approaches demonstrating how small inland surface waters cumulatively impact streamflow and water quality, from headwater catchments to large river basins. We specifically highlight multiple modeling-based case studies in different regions of the United States, asking questions related to how (1) variations in headwater intermittency affect catchment-outlet flows, (2) the presence of non-floodplain wetlands affects flood return intervals in a meso-scale watershed, and (3) depressional wetlands in the landscape modify peak flows, baseflow, and nitrate concentrations and loads across a large river basin. These studies support vulnerable small surface waters playing an outsized watershed-scale role in mediating streamflow and water quality.
Description:
Small inland surface waters, including non-perennial streams and non-floodplain wetlands (wetlands outside of floodplains) continue to be rapidly destroyed and degraded. However, these vulnerable waters are foundational to attenuating potential floods, droughts, and poor water quality conditions in watersheds across the United States and worldwide. Here, we present multiple process-based modeling approaches demonstrating how small inland surface waters cumulatively impact streamflow and water quality, from headwater catchments to large river basins. We specifically highlight multiple modeling-based case studies in different regions of the United States, asking questions related to how (1) variations in headwater intermittency affect catchment-outlet flows, (2) the presence of non-floodplain wetlands affects flood return intervals in a meso-scale watershed, and (3) depressional wetlands in the landscape modify peak flows, baseflow, and nitrate concentrations and loads across a large river basin. These studies support vulnerable small surface waters playing an outsized watershed-scale role in mediating streamflow and water quality. Therefore, specific research focusing on small inland surface water systems at watershed scales will benefit their future protection, restoration, and presence in spatial databases used for management and decision making.
