Articles | Volume 25, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021
Research article
 | 
07 Sep 2021
Research article |  | 07 Sep 2021

Reduction of vegetation-accessible water storage capacity after deforestation affects catchment travel time distributions and increases young water fractions in a headwater catchment

Markus Hrachowitz, Michael Stockinger, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Ruud van der Ent, Heye Bogena, Andreas Lücke, and Christine Stumpp

Viewed

Total article views: 6,113 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total BibTeX EndNote
3,902 2,060 151 6,113 181 214
  • HTML: 3,902
  • PDF: 2,060
  • XML: 151
  • Total: 6,113
  • BibTeX: 181
  • EndNote: 214
Views and downloads (calculated since 22 Jun 2020)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 22 Jun 2020)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 6,113 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 5,667 with geography defined and 446 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 

Cited

Saved (final revised paper)

Latest update: 14 Aug 2026
Download
Short summary
Deforestation affects how catchments store and release water. Here we found that deforestation in the study catchment led to a 20 % increase in mean runoff, while reducing the vegetation-accessible water storage from about 258 to 101 mm. As a consequence, fractions of young water in the stream increased by up to 25 % during wet periods. This implies that water and solutes are more rapidly routed to the stream, which can, after contamination, lead to increased contaminant peak concentrations.
Share