Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
HESS
Articles | Volume 20, issue 12
Articles | Volume 20, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4757-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4757-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 20, issue 12
Research article
 | 
01 Dec 2016
Research article |  | 01 Dec 2016

Contrasting transit times of water from peatlands and eucalypt forests in the Australian Alps determined by tritium: implications for vulnerability and the source of water in upland catchments

Ian Cartwright and Uwe Morgenstern

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Short summary
This research used tritium to determine the timescales that water is stored in peatlands and eucalyptus forest catchments in upland river systems in southeast Australia. The mean transit times in the peatland catchments of less than a few years contrast with much longer transit times (years to decades) in adjacent eucalyptus catchments. The peat is susceptible to drying which renders it vulnerable to degradation and bushfire and does not represent a long-term water store to upland streams.
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