Zichun Zhao, Haijun Huang, Jie Wang, Guanbin Feng, Luyi Li, Tong Sun, Yanzhong Li, Jiangfeng Wei, Xitian Cai
{"title":"Impacts of the Grain for Green Project on Soil Moisture in the Yellow River Basin, China","authors":"Zichun Zhao, Haijun Huang, Jie Wang, Guanbin Feng, Luyi Li, Tong Sun, Yanzhong Li, Jiangfeng Wei, Xitian Cai","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70112","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Grain for Green Project is a significant environmental protection initiative in China designed to maintain ecological benefits through large-scale vegetation restoration. Such projects primarily affect vegetation cover, which in turn influences soil moisture dynamics. This study investigates the changes in surface soil moisture and total soil moisture in the Yellow River Basin before and after the implementation of the Grain for Green Project, thereby assessing its impact on soil moisture conditions. By calculating the trends of soil moisture and NDVI for the periods 1982–1998 and 1999–2014, the effects of the Grain for Green Project on soil moisture were evaluated. We employed partial correlation analysis to obtain the relationship between soil moisture and NDVI. Additionally, an Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network model and the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values were used to identify the key factors influencing soil moisture. The results indicated that the areas with a significant increase in vegetation are mainly concentrated in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin. Moreover, the Grain for Green Project has resulted in a decreasing trend in surface soil moisture and total soil moisture across more than 60% of the Yellow River Basin, with an average reduction of 0.016 m<sup>3</sup>·m<sup>−3</sup>·decade<sup>−1</sup> in the trend of surface soil moisture and 0.021 m<sup>3</sup>·m<sup>−3</sup>·decade<sup>−1</sup> in the trend of total soil moisture. Furthermore, precipitation was found to have the greatest impact on surface soil moisture, while temperature had the most significant influence on total soil moisture. This study provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of the Grain for Green Project in promoting vegetation growth and soil moisture conservation and encourages sustainable management of land and water resources in the Yellow River Basin and beyond.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143688901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hydrological Whiplash: Highlighting the Need for Better Understanding and Quantification of Sub-Seasonal Hydrological Extreme Transitions","authors":"John Hammond, Bailey Anderson, Caelan Simeone, Manuela Brunner, Eduardo Muñoz-Castro, Stacey Archfield, Eugene Magee, Rachael Armitage","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70113","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In this commentary, we aim to (1) describe ways that hydrological intensification and hydrological whiplash (sub-seasonal transitions between hydrological extremes) may impact water management decision-making, (2) introduce the complexities of identifying and quantifying hydrological extreme transitions, (3) discuss the processes controlling hydrological transitions and trends in hydrological extremes through time, (4) discuss considerations involved in modeling hydrological extreme transitions, and (5) motivate additional research by suggesting priority research questions that diverge from an assumption of independence between extreme events.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143688889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Modelling of Total Phosphorus and Nitrate Using a Travel Time Approach in the Duck River Catchment, Australia","authors":"Zahra Riazi, Andrew William Western","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70104","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Total phosphorus (TP) and nitrate are important non-conservative contaminants of streams. They vary strongly in response to climatic, hydrologic, and other drivers and are affected by different flow paths. Water residence and travel time distributions carrying information about sources of streamflow can potentially provide a basis for modelling nitrate and TP dynamics. In this study, we use a travel time model coupled with age—concentration relationships to simulate nitrate and TP concentrations in the Duck River catchment, NW Tasmania, Australia. A modified version of the Tran-SAS model was used with time-varying beta storage selection functions, calibrated against high-frequency electrical conductivity (EC) observations. Concentrations of TP and nitrate were then modelled using the water TTDs coupled with age-concentration relationships for TP and nitrate. This approach separated biogeochemical effects from water travel time and ensured consistent TTDs underpinning the transport of different nutrients. Two years (2008 and 2009 water years) of high-frequency nutrient concentrations were used for model calibration and validation. It was initially hypothesised that the age-concentration relationships for nitrate and TP could be temporally fixed, with the seasonal variation in residence time distribution capturing any seasonality in nutrient behaviour. The models performed moderately under this hypothesis; however, residual analysis clearly demonstrated seasonal declines in the concentrations of TP and nitrate during events across the high flow season. Simulations of TP and nitrate were markedly improved by using different source concentrations: one for the early high flow season and the other for the remainder of the year. Both Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency and the combined seasonal and event dynamics of nitrate and TP were markedly improved by using different source concentrations for these two different periods. This suggests that land management and biogeochemical processing are important influences on the temporal dynamics of nutrients in streams. The study informs future developments of TTD-based water quality modelling and demonstrates the need to include temporally dynamic nutrient source concentrations for young water.</p>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hyp.70104","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143638910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenqing Zhang, Yanling Bai, Liu Liu, Yudong Chen, Jiayi Zhang, Yurui Lun, Xiuping Li
{"title":"Changes in Vegetation Phenology and Water Use Efficiency Driven by Warming and Wetting in Northwest China","authors":"Wenqing Zhang, Yanling Bai, Liu Liu, Yudong Chen, Jiayi Zhang, Yurui Lun, Xiuping Li","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70110","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Vegetation phenology is a key indicator of climate change and plays a vital role in ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE), which balances carbon sequestration and water loss. As global climate change accelerates, understanding its effects on phenology and WUE is essential for comprehending ecosystem dynamics and carbon–water cycles. Northwest China (NWC), one of the driest regions at similar latitudes, is experiencing a rapid shift from a warm-dry to a warm-wet climate, posing significant challenges to its fragile ecosystem. In this study, we used reanalysis and satellite remote sensing datasets to analyse the changes in the start of the growing season (SOS), the end of the growing season (EOS) and the length of the growing season (LOS) for various vegetation types in the NWC from 1982 to 2015. The focus was on how temperature and precipitation variations influenced phenological dynamics and their subsequent impacts on Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and WUE. Our results show that NWC has experienced a significant warming and wetting trend, with the SOS advancing by 0.04 days per year and the EOS delaying by 0.04 days per year, leading to a notable extension of the LOS by 0.08 days annually. Temperature primarily drives the SOS advance, while precipitation changes in croplands and grasslands and temperature shifts in forests and shrublands dictate the EOS delays. WUE increased at a rate of 0.005 gC m<sup>−2</sup> mm<sup>−1</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>, with temperature and precipitation influencing GPP and ET both directly and indirectly through phenological changes. The findings underscore the cascading effects of warming and wetting on vegetation phenology and WUE in the fragile NWC ecosystem. Changes in the vegetation growing season have had significant impacts on carbon and water fluxes, with varying effects across different vegetation types. This study provides valuable insights into the response mechanisms of vegetation to rapid climate change in arid and semi-arid regions and offers critical information for the sustainable management of water resources and agriculture in the NWC.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143638909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dynamic Baseflow Storage Estimates and the Role of Topography, Geology and Evapotranspiration on Streamflow Recession Characteristics in the Neversink Reservoir Watershed, New York","authors":"Joshua R. Benton, Daniel H. Doctor","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70106","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Estimates of dynamic groundwater volumes supplying baseflow to streams are important for water availability projections during extended periods of drought. The primary goals of this study were to provide dynamic storage volume estimates, inferred from streamflow recession analysis, for baseflow regimes within seven gaged catchments within the Neversink Reservoir Watershed (NRW), a critical municipal water source for New York City. Additionally, geomorphological properties, surficial geology and hydro-meteorological processes were quantified and described in relation to time and spatially variable recession behaviour and storage estimates across the NRW. To explore these relationships, we (1) evaluated seasonal trends in streamflow recession behaviour in relation to modelled potential evapotranspiration (PET) and catchment runoff rates, (2) derived empirical streamflow models for cool-season runoff using both linear and nonlinear reservoir assumptions for baseflow and (3) calculated metrics related to the geology and geomorphology of each catchment and compared these metrics to area normalised baseflow dynamic storage estimates. Results show that baseflow recession behaves as a nonlinear reservoir, and applying linear groundwater reservoir assumptions may underestimate the total dynamic storage volumes compared to what would be predicted for a nonlinear reservoir. Increases in PET caused decreases in storage conditions that resulted in increased recession rates and nonlinearity in streamflow recession during the growing season. Additionally, we found that while no single physical catchment characteristic solely predicted catchment storage dynamics, sediment volume and stream gradients were stronger predictors of normalised storage volumes than catchment surface area or surface topography alone. Within the NRW, catchments with the highest sediment volume exhibited the lowest recession rates and higher dynamic storage volumes, while the smallest catchment, mostly devoid of sediment, had the fastest recession rate and lowest dynamic storage volume.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143629844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Keira Johnson, Kenneth H. Williams, John N. Christensen, Rosemary W. H. Carroll, Li Li, Curtis Beutler, Kenneth Swift Bird, Wenming Dong, Pamela L. Sullivan
{"title":"Hidden Features: How Subsurface and Landscape Heterogeneity Govern Hydrologic Connectivity and Stream Chemistry in a Montane Watershed","authors":"Keira Johnson, Kenneth H. Williams, John N. Christensen, Rosemary W. H. Carroll, Li Li, Curtis Beutler, Kenneth Swift Bird, Wenming Dong, Pamela L. Sullivan","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70085","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70085","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Hydrologic connectivity is defined as the connection among stores of water within a watershed and controls the flux of water and solutes from the subsurface to the stream. Hydrologic connectivity is difficult to quantify because it is goverened by heterogeniety in subsurface storage and permeability and responds to seasonal changes in precipitation inputs and subsurface moisture conditions. How interannual climate variability impacts hydrologic connectivity, and thus stream flow generation and chemistry, remains unclear. Using a rare, four-year synoptic stream chemistry dataset, we evaluated shifts in stream chemistry and stream flow source of Coal Creek, a montane, headwater tributary of the Upper Colorado River. We leveraged compositional principal component analysis and end-member mixing to evaluate how seasonal and interannual variation in subsurface moisture conditions impacts stream chemistry. Overall, three main findings emerged from this work. First, three geochemically distinct end members were identified that constrained stream flow chemistry: reach inflows, and quick and slow flow groundwater contributions. Reach inflows were impacted by historic base and precious metal mine inputs. Bedrock fractures facilitated much of the transport of quick flow groundwater and higher-storage subsurface features (e.g., alluvial fans) facilitated the transport of slow flow groundwater. Second, the contributions of different end members to the stream changed over the summer. In early summer, stream flow was composed of all three end members, while in late summer, it was composed predominantly of reach inflows and slow flow groundwater. Finally, we observed minimal differences in proportional composition in stream chemistry across all four years, indicating seasonal variability in subsurface moisture and spatial heterogeneity in landscape and geologic features had a greater influence than interannual climate fluctuation on hydrologic connectivity and stream water chemistry. These findings indicate that mechanisms controlling solute transport (e.g., hydrologic connectivity and flow path activation) may be resilient (i.e., able to rebound after perturbations) to predicted increases in climate variability. By establishing a framework for assessing compositional stream chemistry across variable hydrologic and subsurface moisture conditions, our study offers a method to evaluate watershed biogeochemical resilience to variations in hydrometeorological conditions.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143622380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fan Zhou, Shengping Wang, Siyi Qu, Wenxin Li, Desheng Cai, Qingfeng Hai, Mengyao Ma, Peter Strauss, Zhiwei Wang, Yi Ren, Liping Zhang
{"title":"Understanding Hydrological Process Change due to Re-Vegetation in a Mountainous Watershed of Northern China","authors":"Fan Zhou, Shengping Wang, Siyi Qu, Wenxin Li, Desheng Cai, Qingfeng Hai, Mengyao Ma, Peter Strauss, Zhiwei Wang, Yi Ren, Liping Zhang","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70103","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Hydrological processes of mountainous watersheds commonly impact water resource supply in downstream areas. To better understand how re-vegetation affects the different hydrological pathways of watersheds, we investigated their change at various temporal scales for the Xiaoluan River watershed, a typical meso-scale watershed featuring a plateau–mountain transition topography in northern China. For the non-growing season from 2006 to 2020, the groundwater discharge of the watershed and the wetting of the watershed in terms of the Horton Index significantly increased, and the recession process in terms of the recession coefficient (<i>k</i>) was considerably prolonged. We suggest that re-vegetation and snowmelt were responsible for this change, but they affected the hydrological processes differently. That is, re-vegetation might improve the water storage capacity of the shallow soil layers of the watershed, thereby enhancing the capacity of groundwater recharge and discharge. Meanwhile, snowmelt may provide available water for recharging and discharging the watershed. Because reforestation progresses and global climate change continues, more complex hydrological processes are to be expected. Therefore, continuous monitoring and detailed investigations of subsurface hydrological processes will be necessary for adaptive watershed management.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143595343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicola Mathura, Wanika Arnold, Lahteefah James, Kegan K. Farrick
{"title":"The Impact of Agricultural Land Cover Change on Soil Hydraulic Properties: Implications for Runoff Generation","authors":"Nicola Mathura, Wanika Arnold, Lahteefah James, Kegan K. Farrick","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70102","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Infiltration and hydraulic conductivity (<i>K</i>) play a key role in streamflow generation and groundwater recharge. The impact of agriculture on soil infiltration and <i>K</i> has been widely investigated. While many studies show decreases in infiltration and <i>K</i>, others show an increase or no change in both parameters. These variations highlight the importance of conducting local scale investigations. We investigated the impact of agricultural development and land cover changes on infiltration and <i>K</i>. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (<i>K</i><sub>unsat</sub>) was measured at the soil surface during both dry and wet seasons, and saturated hydraulic conductivity (<i>K</i><sub>sat</sub>) was measured at 25, 45, and 65 cm below the surface. Our results show that there were no significant differences in <i>K</i><sub>unsat</sub> between perennial crop cover and natural forests; however, agroforests did have significantly higher <i>K</i><sub>unsat</sub> than natural forests, which was attributed to higher soil moisture. There were no significant differences in <i>K</i><sub>sat</sub> among the perennial crops, agroforests, and natural forests at the 45 and 65 cm depths; however, at 25 cm, natural forests had significantly higher <i>K</i><sub>sat</sub>, which was attributed to the higher soil organic matter and lower bulk density in natural forest. The study showed that the impacts of agriculture and land cover change on <i>K</i><sub>sat</sub> do not extend to deeper soil layers. We used 2 years of rainfall intensity data, observed <i>K</i><sub>unsat</sub> and <i>K</i><sub>sat</sub>, and HYDRUS-1D modelling to infer any changes to runoff. We show that footpaths and perennial crop cover may generate more surface runoff than natural forests. This study adds to the literature on agricultural impacts on infiltration and <i>K</i>. More importantly, it shows that differences in crop type, management practices, and topographic location all play an important role on infiltration and K, showing the need for local field-based studies.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143595332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Numerical Modelling of Groundwater Flow in an Urban Aquifer Under Extensive Artificial Recharge Forcings","authors":"Ameerah H. Alkandari, Abdullah A. Alsumaiei","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70100","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>With a steadily growing population and increasingly limited natural freshwater resources, water-scarce regions must implement smart interventions to sustainably manage their water resources. Using Groundwater Vistas software, a modelling framework for Kuwait City urban aquifer was developed to address this issue. This framework was employed to create a numerical model of the shallow aquifer beneath the urbanised aquifer of Kuwait City. The model was calibrated using groundwater levels from 15 calibration points across the modelled area. Two key factors influenced the calibration: the constant head boundary condition applied upstream in the model domain and the horizontal hydraulic conductivity. The model performed satisfactorily achieving a Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient of 0.983, a root-mean-square error of 1.134 m, and a Kling-Gupta efficiency of 0.971. These results were then used to simulate two complex hydrogeological processes affecting the Kuwait City aquifer: unplanned dewatering schemes and incidental recharge from anthropogenic watering practices. It was found that altering the pumping rate between 250 and 2250 m<sup>3</sup>/day, resembling the dewatering process, could lower the groundwater level by approximately 1.21–1.79 m in coastal areas. Conversely, an unplanned recharge of 1500–6000 m<sup>3</sup>/day could substantially raise groundwater levels by approximately 2.5–3 m in inland areas. However, these findings should be cautiously approached, as certain constraints may significantly influence the model's reliability. These constraints include the limited availability of data records and the possible existence of unknown sources/sinks to the aquifer. The outcomes of this study should aid water managers in establishing reliable groundwater control decisions in the study area and other areas with similar hydrogeologic characteristics.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143564853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}