|
|
|
Negley, T.L., and K.N. Eshleman. In press. Watershed stormflow response of surface-mined and forested watersheds in the Appalachians. Hydrological Processes. In a Nutshell: Problem - The relationship between land use/land cover change and hydrological responsiveness of watersheds is becoming highly scrutinized in science, management, and public policy, yet few studies have provided quantitative information for assessing the extent to which storm runoff responses could be exacerbated owing to surface mining and reclamation practices. What - A comparative, field hydrologic investigation of a pair of instrumented watersheds in western Maryland was used to test the hypothesis that a watershed recently subjected to surface mining and reclamation practices produces stormflow responses to rainfall events that are quantitatively different from those produced by a nearby reference watershed covered by second-growth forest. Findings - While similar annual water balances were observed, statistical analysis of our field data showed that the mined/reclaimed watershed produced, on average, higher peak hourly runoff (~2x), greater total storm runoff (~3x), and larger storm runoff coefficients (~2.5x) than the forested reference watershed (p < 0.05). Ancillary data from the two sites were used to attribute the differences in stormflow responsiveness to lower infiltration capacity of soils at the mined site, caused by soil compaction during reclamation. Additional field hydrological measurements will be needed to generalize the results and to predict the cumulative hydrological impacts of widespread surface mining in river basins. |
|
