Characterization of baseflow generation to support land-use and ecosystem-service decisions
Abstract
Watersheds provide a valuable water-supply service through the delivery of steady baseflows, especially in times of drought and in areas with highly seasonal climates. Land-use changes may affect the location, timing, and amount of baseflow generation, and effective management decisions require the best use of hydrologic understanding and available information within the context of resource constraints and uncertainty. We present a series of parsimonious tools and approaches to characterize the effects of landscape on baseflow generation and water-supply. An assessment of 600 basins across the United States provides a quantification of the value of the flow-regulating service of natural watersheds as a function of available reservoir storage. An extension of the familiar NRCS Curve Number method provides a means of estimating the partitioning of long-term streamflow into baseflow and quickflow as a function of landscape characteristics. To support spatial-planning decisions, two algorithms enable the attribution of baseflow generation within a watershed; the first quantifies the local generation of recharge whereas the second focuses on the water that eventually emerges in the stream. These algorithms can be coupled with a simple representation of soil-moisture dynamics to develop quantitative maps that depict the spatial distribution of baseflow generation. With appropriate quantification of their limitations and associated uncertainty, these approaches can provide relevant hydrologic information to decision-makers, such as governments, NGOs, and land-owners.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.H54B..01G
- Keywords:
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- 1812 Drought;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1830 Groundwater/surface water interaction;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1880 Water management;
- HYDROLOGY