Articles | Volume 28, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2357-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2357-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Jun 2024
Research article |
| 05 Jun 2024
| 05 Jun 2024
Machine learning and global vegetation: random forests for downscaling and gap filling
Barry van Jaarsveld
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Sandra M. Hauswirth
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Niko Wanders
Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Barry van Jaarsveld, Niko Wanders, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Jannis Hoch, Bram Droppers, Joren Janzing, Rens L. P. H. van Beek, and Marc F. P. Bierkens
Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 29–54, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-29-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-29-2025, 2025
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Policy makers use global hydrological models to develop water management strategies and policies. However, it would be better if these models provided information at higher resolution. We present a first-of-its-kind, truly global hyper-resolution model and show that hyper-resolution brings about better estimates of river discharge, and this is especially true for smaller catchments. Our results also suggest that future hyper-resolution models need to include more detailed land cover information.
Joren Janzing, Niko Wanders, Marit van Tiel, Barry van Jaarsveld, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, and Manuela Irene Brunner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3072, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3072, 2024
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Process representation in hyper-resolution large-scale hydrological models (LHM) limits model performance, particularly in mountain regions. Here, we update mountain process representation in an LHM and compare different meteorological forcing products. Structural and parametric changes in snow, glacier and soil processes improve discharge simulations, while meteorological forcing remains a major control on model performance. Our work can guide future development of LHMs.
Jennie C. Steyaert, Edwin Sutanudjaja, Marc Bierkens, and Niko Wanders
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3658, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3658, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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Using machine learning techniques and remotely sensed reservoir data, we develop a workflow to derive reservoir storage bounds. We put these bounds in a global hydrologic model, PCR-GLOBWB 2, and evaluate the difference between generalized operations (the schemes typically in global models) and this data derived method. We find that modelled storage is more accurate in the data derived operations. We also find that generalized operations over estimate storage and can underestimate water gaps.
Barry van Jaarsveld, Niko Wanders, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Jannis Hoch, Bram Droppers, Joren Janzing, Rens L. P. H. van Beek, and Marc F. P. Bierkens
Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 29–54, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-29-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-29-2025, 2025
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Policy makers use global hydrological models to develop water management strategies and policies. However, it would be better if these models provided information at higher resolution. We present a first-of-its-kind, truly global hyper-resolution model and show that hyper-resolution brings about better estimates of river discharge, and this is especially true for smaller catchments. Our results also suggest that future hyper-resolution models need to include more detailed land cover information.
Joren Janzing, Niko Wanders, Marit van Tiel, Barry van Jaarsveld, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, and Manuela Irene Brunner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3072, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3072, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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Process representation in hyper-resolution large-scale hydrological models (LHM) limits model performance, particularly in mountain regions. Here, we update mountain process representation in an LHM and compare different meteorological forcing products. Structural and parametric changes in snow, glacier and soil processes improve discharge simulations, while meteorological forcing remains a major control on model performance. Our work can guide future development of LHMs.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2069, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2069, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS).
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This research by the Drought in the Anthropocene (DitA) network highlights gaps in European drought management exposed by the 2022 drought and proposes a new direction. Using a Europe-wide survey of water managers, we examine four areas: increasing drought risk, impacts, drought management strategies, and their evolution. Despite growing risks, management remains fragmented and short-term. However, signs of improvement suggest readiness for change. We advocate for a European Drought Directive.
Hannes Müller Schmied, Simon Newland Gosling, Marlo Garnsworthy, Laura Müller, Camelia-Eliza Telteu, Atiq Kainan Ahmed, Lauren Seaby Andersen, Julien Boulange, Peter Burek, Jinfeng Chang, He Chen, Manolis Grillakis, Luca Guillaumot, Naota Hanasaki, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Rohini Kumar, Guoyong Leng, Junguo Liu, Xingcai Liu, Inga Menke, Vimal Mishra, Yadu Pokhrel, Oldrich Rakovec, Luis Samaniego, Yusuke Satoh, Harsh Lovekumar Shah, Mikhail Smilovic, Tobias Stacke, Edwin Sutanudjaja, Wim Thiery, Athanasios Tsilimigkras, Yoshihide Wada, Niko Wanders, and Tokuta Yokohata
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1303, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1303, 2024
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Global water models contribute to the evaluation of important natural and societal issues but are – as all models – simplified representation of the reality. So, there are many ways to calculate the water fluxes and storages. This paper presents a visualization of 16 global water models using a standardized visualization and the pathway towards this common understanding. Next to academic education purposes, we envisage that these diagrams will help researchers, model developers and data users.
Edward R. Jones, Marc F. P. Bierkens, Niko Wanders, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Ludovicus P. H. van Beek, and Michelle T. H. van Vliet
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4481–4500, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4481-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4481-2023, 2023
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DynQual is a new high-resolution global water quality model for simulating total dissolved solids, biological oxygen demand and fecal coliform as indicators of salinity, organic pollution and pathogen pollution, respectively. Output data from DynQual can supplement the observational record of water quality data, which is highly fragmented across space and time, and has the potential to inform assessments in a broad range of fields including ecological, human health and water scarcity studies.
Jannis M. Hoch, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Niko Wanders, Rens L. P. H. van Beek, and Marc F. P. Bierkens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1383–1401, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1383-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1383-2023, 2023
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To facilitate locally relevant simulations over large areas, global hydrological models (GHMs) have moved towards ever finer spatial resolutions. After a decade-long quest for hyper-resolution (i.e. equal to or smaller than 1 km), the presented work is a first application of a GHM at 1 km resolution over Europe. This not only shows that hyper-resolution can be achieved but also allows for a thorough evaluation of model results at unprecedented detail and the formulation of future research.
Sandra M. Hauswirth, Marc F. P. Bierkens, Vincent Beijk, and Niko Wanders
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 501–517, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-501-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-501-2023, 2023
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Forecasts on water availability are important for water managers. We test a hybrid framework based on machine learning models and global input data for generating seasonal forecasts. Our evaluation shows that our discharge and surface water level predictions are able to create reliable forecasts up to 2 months ahead. We show that a hybrid framework, developed for local purposes and combined and rerun with global data, can create valuable information similar to large-scale forecasting models.
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Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 65–89, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-65-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-65-2023, 2023
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Vili Virkki, Elina Alanärä, Miina Porkka, Lauri Ahopelto, Tom Gleeson, Chinchu Mohan, Lan Wang-Erlandsson, Martina Flörke, Dieter Gerten, Simon N. Gosling, Naota Hanasaki, Hannes Müller Schmied, Niko Wanders, and Matti Kummu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3315–3336, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3315-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3315-2022, 2022
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Veit Blauhut, Michael Stoelzle, Lauri Ahopelto, Manuela I. Brunner, Claudia Teutschbein, Doris E. Wendt, Vytautas Akstinas, Sigrid J. Bakke, Lucy J. Barker, Lenka Bartošová, Agrita Briede, Carmelo Cammalleri, Ksenija Cindrić Kalin, Lucia De Stefano, Miriam Fendeková, David C. Finger, Marijke Huysmans, Mirjana Ivanov, Jaak Jaagus, Jiří Jakubínský, Svitlana Krakovska, Gregor Laaha, Monika Lakatos, Kiril Manevski, Mathias Neumann Andersen, Nina Nikolova, Marzena Osuch, Pieter van Oel, Kalina Radeva, Renata J. Romanowicz, Elena Toth, Mirek Trnka, Marko Urošev, Julia Urquijo Reguera, Eric Sauquet, Aleksandra Stevkov, Lena M. Tallaksen, Iryna Trofimova, Anne F. Van Loon, Michelle T. H. van Vliet, Jean-Philippe Vidal, Niko Wanders, Micha Werner, Patrick Willems, and Nenad Živković
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2201–2217, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2201-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2201-2022, 2022
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Recent drought events caused enormous damage in Europe. We therefore questioned the existence and effect of current drought management strategies on the actual impacts and how drought is perceived by relevant stakeholders. Over 700 participants from 28 European countries provided insights into drought hazard and impact perception and current management strategies. The study concludes with an urgent need to collectively combat drought risk via a European macro-level drought governance approach.
Marc F. P. Bierkens, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, and Niko Wanders
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5859–5878, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5859-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5859-2021, 2021
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We introduce a simple analytical framework that allows us to estimate to what extent large-scale groundwater withdrawal affects groundwater levels and streamflow. It also calculates which part of the groundwater withdrawal comes out of groundwater storage and which part from a reduction in streamflow. Global depletion rates obtained with the framework are compared with estimates from satellites, from global- and continental-scale groundwater models, and from in situ datasets.
Camelia-Eliza Telteu, Hannes Müller Schmied, Wim Thiery, Guoyong Leng, Peter Burek, Xingcai Liu, Julien Eric Stanislas Boulange, Lauren Seaby Andersen, Manolis Grillakis, Simon Newland Gosling, Yusuke Satoh, Oldrich Rakovec, Tobias Stacke, Jinfeng Chang, Niko Wanders, Harsh Lovekumar Shah, Tim Trautmann, Ganquan Mao, Naota Hanasaki, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Yadu Pokhrel, Luis Samaniego, Yoshihide Wada, Vimal Mishra, Junguo Liu, Petra Döll, Fang Zhao, Anne Gädeke, Sam S. Rabin, and Florian Herz
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 3843–3878, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3843-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3843-2021, 2021
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We analyse water storage compartments, water flows, and human water use sectors included in 16 global water models that provide simulations for the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project phase 2b. We develop a standard writing style for the model equations. We conclude that even though hydrologic processes are often based on similar equations, in the end these equations have been adjusted, or the models have used different values for specific parameters or specific variables.
Noemi Vergopolan, Sitian Xiong, Lyndon Estes, Niko Wanders, Nathaniel W. Chaney, Eric F. Wood, Megan Konar, Kelly Caylor, Hylke E. Beck, Nicolas Gatti, Tom Evans, and Justin Sheffield
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1827–1847, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1827-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1827-2021, 2021
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Drought monitoring and yield prediction often rely on coarse-scale hydroclimate data or (infrequent) vegetation indexes that do not always indicate the conditions farmers face in the field. Consequently, decision-making based on these indices can often be disconnected from the farmer reality. Our study focuses on smallholder farming systems in data-sparse developing countries, and it shows how field-scale soil moisture can leverage and improve crop yield prediction and drought impact assessment.
Sarah F. Kew, Sjoukje Y. Philip, Mathias Hauser, Mike Hobbins, Niko Wanders, Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, Karin van der Wiel, Ted I. E. Veldkamp, Joyce Kimutai, Chris Funk, and Friederike E. L. Otto
Earth Syst. Dynam., 12, 17–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-17-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-17-2021, 2021
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Motivated by the possible influence of rising temperatures, this study synthesises results from observations and climate models to explore trends (1900–2018) in eastern African (EA) drought measures. However, no discernible trends are found in annual soil moisture or precipitation. Positive trends in potential evaporation indicate that for irrigated regions more water is now required to counteract increased evaporation. Precipitation deficit is, however, the most useful indicator of EA drought.
Sjoukje Philip, Sarah Sparrow, Sarah F. Kew, Karin van der Wiel, Niko Wanders, Roop Singh, Ahmadul Hassan, Khaled Mohammed, Hammad Javid, Karsten Haustein, Friederike E. L. Otto, Feyera Hirpa, Ruksana H. Rimi, A. K. M. Saiful Islam, David C. H. Wallom, and Geert Jan van Oldenborgh
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1409–1429, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1409-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1409-2019, 2019
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In August 2017 Bangladesh faced one of its worst river flooding events in recent history. For the large Brahmaputra basin, using precipitation alone as a proxy for flooding might not be appropriate. In this paper we explicitly test this assumption by performing an attribution of both precipitation and discharge as a flooding-related measure to climate change. We find the change in risk to be of similar order of magnitude (between 1 and 2) for both the meteorological and hydrological approach.
Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Rens van Beek, Niko Wanders, Yoshihide Wada, Joyce H. C. Bosmans, Niels Drost, Ruud J. van der Ent, Inge E. M. de Graaf, Jannis M. Hoch, Kor de Jong, Derek Karssenberg, Patricia López López, Stefanie Peßenteiner, Oliver Schmitz, Menno W. Straatsma, Ekkamol Vannametee, Dominik Wisser, and Marc F. P. Bierkens
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 2429–2453, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2429-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2429-2018, 2018
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PCR-GLOBWB 2 is an integrated hydrology and water resource model that fully integrates water use simulation and consolidates all features that have been developed since PCR-GLOBWB 1 was introduced. PCR-GLOBWB 2 can have a global coverage at 5 arcmin resolution and supersedes PCR-GLOBWB 1, which has a resolution of 30 arcmin only. Comparing the 5 arcmin with 30 arcmin simulations using discharge data, we clearly find improvement in the model performance of the higher-resolution model.
Andreas Marx, Rohini Kumar, Stephan Thober, Oldrich Rakovec, Niko Wanders, Matthias Zink, Eric F. Wood, Ming Pan, Justin Sheffield, and Luis Samaniego
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1017–1032, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1017-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1017-2018, 2018
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Hydrological low flows are affected under different levels of future global warming (i.e. 1.5, 2, and 3 K). The multi-model ensemble results show that the change signal amplifies with increasing warming levels. Low flows decrease in the Mediterranean, while they increase in the Alpine and Northern regions. The changes in low flows are significant for regions with relatively large change signals and under higher levels of warming. Adaptation should make use of change and uncertainty information.
Marit Van Tiel, Adriaan J. Teuling, Niko Wanders, Marc J. P. Vis, Kerstin Stahl, and Anne F. Van Loon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 463–485, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-463-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-463-2018, 2018
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Glaciers are important hydrological reservoirs. Short-term variability in glacier melt and also glacier retreat can cause droughts in streamflow. In this study, we analyse the effect of glacier changes and different drought threshold approaches on future projections of streamflow droughts in glacierised catchments. We show that these different methodological options result in different drought projections and that these options can be used to study different aspects of streamflow droughts.
Yu Zhang, Ming Pan, Justin Sheffield, Amanda L. Siemann, Colby K. Fisher, Miaoling Liang, Hylke E. Beck, Niko Wanders, Rosalyn F. MacCracken, Paul R. Houser, Tian Zhou, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Rachel T. Pinker, Janice Bytheway, Christian D. Kummerow, and Eric F. Wood
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 241–263, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-241-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-241-2018, 2018
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A global data record for all four terrestrial water budget variables (precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, and total water storage change) at 0.5° resolution and monthly scale for the period of 1984–2010 is developed by optimally merging a series of remote sensing products, in situ measurements, land surface model outputs, and atmospheric reanalysis estimates and enforcing the mass balance of water. Initial validations show the data record is reliable for climate related analysis.
Luis Samaniego, Rohini Kumar, Stephan Thober, Oldrich Rakovec, Matthias Zink, Niko Wanders, Stephanie Eisner, Hannes Müller Schmied, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Kirsten Warrach-Sagi, and Sabine Attinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4323–4346, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4323-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4323-2017, 2017
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We inspect the state-of-the-art of several land surface (LSMs) and hydrologic models (HMs) and show that most do not have consistent and realistic parameter fields for land surface geophysical properties. We propose to use the multiscale parameter regionalization (MPR) technique to solve, at least partly, the scaling problem in LSMs/HMs. A general model protocol is presented to describe how MPR can be applied to a specific model.
Yoshihide Wada, Marc F. P. Bierkens, Ad de Roo, Paul A. Dirmeyer, James S. Famiglietti, Naota Hanasaki, Megan Konar, Junguo Liu, Hannes Müller Schmied, Taikan Oki, Yadu Pokhrel, Murugesu Sivapalan, Tara J. Troy, Albert I. J. M. van Dijk, Tim van Emmerik, Marjolein H. J. Van Huijgevoort, Henny A. J. Van Lanen, Charles J. Vörösmarty, Niko Wanders, and Howard Wheater
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4169–4193, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4169-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4169-2017, 2017
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Rapidly increasing population and human activities have altered terrestrial water fluxes on an unprecedented scale. Awareness of potential water scarcity led to first global water resource assessments; however, few hydrological models considered the interaction between terrestrial water fluxes and human activities. Our contribution highlights the importance of human activities transforming the Earth's water cycle, and how hydrological models can include such influences in an integrated manner.
Niko Wanders, Anne F. Van Loon, and Henny A. J. Van Lanen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2017-512, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2017-512, 2017
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
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This paper investigates the similarities between frequently used drought indicators and how they should be used for global drought monitoring. We find that drought indicators that should monitor drought in the same hydrological domain show high discrepancy in their anomalies and thus drought detection. This shows that the current ways of monitoring drought events is not sufficient to fully capture the complexity of drought events and monitor the socio-economic impact of these large-scale events.
Emmy E. Stigter, Niko Wanders, Tuomo M. Saloranta, Joseph M. Shea, Marc F. P. Bierkens, and Walter W. Immerzeel
The Cryosphere, 11, 1647–1664, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1647-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1647-2017, 2017
Anne F. Van Loon, Kerstin Stahl, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Julian Clark, Sally Rangecroft, Niko Wanders, Tom Gleeson, Albert I. J. M. Van Dijk, Lena M. Tallaksen, Jamie Hannaford, Remko Uijlenhoet, Adriaan J. Teuling, David M. Hannah, Justin Sheffield, Mark Svoboda, Boud Verbeiren, Thorsten Wagener, and Henny A. J. Van Lanen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3631–3650, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3631-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3631-2016, 2016
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In the Anthropocene, drought cannot be viewed as a natural hazard independent of people. Drought can be alleviated or made worse by human activities and drought impacts are dependent on a myriad of factors. In this paper, we identify research gaps and suggest a framework that will allow us to adequately analyse and manage drought in the Anthropocene. We need to focus on attribution of drought to different drivers, linking drought to its impacts, and feedbacks between drought and society.
Patricia López López, Niko Wanders, Jaap Schellekens, Luigi J. Renzullo, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, and Marc F. P. Bierkens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3059–3076, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3059-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3059-2016, 2016
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We perform a joint assimilation experiment of high-resolution satellite soil moisture and discharge observations in the Murrumbidgee River basin with a large-scale hydrological model. Additionally, we study the impact of high- and low-resolution meteorological forcing on the model performance. We show that the assimilation of high-resolution satellite soil moisture and discharge observations has a significant impact on discharge simulations and can bring them closer to locally calibrated models.
W. W. Immerzeel, N. Wanders, A. F. Lutz, J. M. Shea, and M. F. P. Bierkens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 4673–4687, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4673-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4673-2015, 2015
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The water resources of the upper Indus river basin (UIB) are important for millions of people, yet little is known about the rain and snow fall in the high-altitude regions because of the inaccessibility, the climatic complexity and the lack of observations. In this study we use mass balance of glaciers to reconstruct the amount of precipitation in the UIB and we conclude that this amount is much higher than previously thought.
W. Zhan, M. Pan, N. Wanders, and E. F. Wood
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 4275–4291, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4275-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4275-2015, 2015
N. Wanders and H. A. J. Van Lanen
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 487–504, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-15-487-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-15-487-2015, 2015
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In this study a conceptual hydrological model was forced by three general circulation models for the SRES A2 emission scenario and compared to the WATCH Forcing data set. Hydrological drought characteristics (duration and severity) were calculated on a global scale. It was found that both drought duration and severity will increase in multiple regions, which will lead to a higher impact of drought events, which urges water resources managers to timely design pro-active measures.
N. Wanders, Y. Wada, and H. A. J. Van Lanen
Earth Syst. Dynam., 6, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-6-1-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-6-1-2015, 2015
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This study shows the impact of a changing climate on hydrological drought. The study illustrates that an alternative drought identification that considers adaptation to an altered hydrological regime has a substantial influence on the way in which drought impact is calculated. The obtained results show that an adaptive threshold approach is the way forward to study the impact of climate change on the identification and characterization of hydrological drought events.
N. Wanders, D. Karssenberg, A. de Roo, S. M. de Jong, and M. F. P. Bierkens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2343–2357, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2343-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2343-2014, 2014
H. A. J. Van Lanen, N. Wanders, L. M. Tallaksen, and A. F. Van Loon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1715–1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1715-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1715-2013, 2013
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Green water availability and water-limited crop yields under a changing climate in Ethiopia
Bias-blind and bias-aware assimilation of leaf area index into the Noah-MP land surface model over Europe
Technical note: Seamless extraction and analysis of river networks in R
Advancing stream classification and hydrologic modeling of ungaged basins for environmental flow management in coastal southern California
Improving regional climate simulations based on a hybrid data assimilation and machine learning method
A comprehensive assessment of in situ and remote sensing soil moisture data assimilation in the APSIM model for improving agricultural forecasting across the US Midwest
Does non-stationarity induced by multiyear drought invalidate the paired-catchment method?
Is the reputation of Eucalyptus plantations for using more water than Pinus plantations justified?
Attributing trend in naturalized streamflow to temporally explicit vegetation change and climate variation in the Yellow River basin of China
Impacts of different types of El Niño events on water quality over the Corn Belt, United States
Leveraging sap flow data in a catchment-scale hybrid model to improve soil moisture and transpiration estimates
Coupled modelling of hydrological processes and grassland production in two contrasting climates
Does maximization of net carbon profit enable the prediction of vegetation behaviour in savanna sites along a precipitation gradient?
Modelling the artificial forest (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) root–soil water interactions in the Loess Plateau, China
A deep learning hybrid predictive modeling (HPM) approach for estimating evapotranspiration and ecosystem respiration
Vegetation greening weakened the capacity of water supply to China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project
Structural changes to forests during regeneration affect water flux partitioning, water ages and hydrological connectivity: Insights from tracer-aided ecohydrological modelling
How does water yield respond to mountain pine beetle infestation in a semiarid forest?
Daily soil temperature modeling improved by integrating observed snow cover and estimated soil moisture in the USA Great Plains
Plant hydraulic transport controls transpiration sensitivity to soil water stress
Drought onset and propagation into soil moisture and grassland vegetation responses during the 2012–2019 major drought in Southern California
Quantifying the effects of urban green space on water partitioning and ages using an isotope-based ecohydrological model
Low and contrasting impacts of vegetation CO2 fertilization on global terrestrial runoff over 1982–2010: accounting for aboveground and belowground vegetation–CO2 effects
Global ecosystem-scale plant hydraulic traits retrieved using model–data fusion
Quantifying the effects of land use and model scale on water partitioning and water ages using tracer-aided ecohydrological models
Quantification of ecohydrological sensitivities and their influencing factors at the seasonal scale
Canopy temperature and heat stress are increased by compound high air temperature and water stress and reduced by irrigation – a modeling analysis
Evaluating a landscape-scale daily water balance model to support spatially continuous representation of flow intermittency throughout stream networks
Testing water fluxes and storage from two hydrology configurations within the ORCHIDEE land surface model across US semi-arid sites
Novel Keeling-plot-based methods to estimate the isotopic composition of ambient water vapor
Disentangling temporal and population variability in plant root water uptake from stable isotopic analysis: when rooting depth matters in labeling studies
Calibration of hydrological models for ecologically relevant streamflow predictions: a trade-off between fitting well to data and estimating consistent parameter sets?
Spatial variability of mean daily estimates of actual evaporation from remotely sensed imagery and surface reference data
Quantification of soil water balance components based on continuous soil moisture measurement and the Richards equation in an irrigated agricultural field of a desert oasis
Mapping the suitability of groundwater-dependent vegetation in a semi-arid Mediterranean area
Modeling boreal forest evapotranspiration and water balance at stand and catchment scales: a spatial approach
The 18O ecohydrology of a grassland ecosystem – predictions and observations
A comprehensive sensitivity and uncertainty analysis for discharge and nitrate-nitrogen loads involving multiple discrete model inputs under future changing conditions
Dynamic responses of DOC and DIC transport to different flow regimes in a subtropical small mountainous river
Evaluation of ORCHIDEE-MICT-simulated soil moisture over China and impacts of different atmospheric forcing data
Testing an optimality-based model of rooting zone water storage capacity in temperate forests
A regional-scale ecological risk framework for environmental flow evaluations
Climate-driven disturbances in the San Juan River sub-basin of the Colorado River
Dominant effect of increasing forest biomass on evapotranspiration: interpretations of movement in Budyko space
Modeling the potential impacts of climate change on the water table level of selected forested wetlands in the southeastern United States
Calibration of a parsimonious distributed ecohydrological daily model in a data-scarce basin by exclusively using the spatio-temporal variation of NDVI
Yiran Wang, Naika Meili, and Simone Fatichi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 381–396, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-381-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-381-2025, 2025
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In this study, we use climate model simulations and process-based ecohydrological modeling to assess the effects of solar radiation changes on hydrological variables. Results show that direct changes in solar radiation without the land–atmosphere feedback primarily affects sensible heat with limited effects on hydrology and vegetation. However, including land–atmosphere feedbacks exacerbates the effects of radiation changes on evapotranspiration and modifies vegetation productivity.
Anne Imig, Francesca Perosa, Carolina Iwane Hotta, Sophia Klausner, Kristen Welsh, Yan Zheng, and Arno Rein
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5459–5478, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5459-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5459-2024, 2024
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In 2019, Hurricane Dorian led to salinization of groundwater resources on the island of Grand Bahama. We assessed the feasibility of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) for restoring fresh groundwater. Furthermore, we applied a financial and an extended cost–benefit analysis for assessing ecosystem services supported by MAR and reforestation. As a first estimate, MAR could only provide a small contribution to the water demand. Reforestation measures were assessed to be financially profitable.
Jesús Sánchez-Dávila, Miquel De Cáceres, Jordi Vayreda, and Javier Retana
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3037–3050, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3037-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3037-2024, 2024
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Forest blue water is determined by the climate, functional traits, and stand structure variables. The leaf area index (LAI) is the main driver of the trade-off between the blue and green water. Blue water is concentrated in the autumn–winter season, and deciduous trees can increase the relative blue water. The leaf phenology and seasonal distribution are determinants for the relative blue water.
Nicholas K. Corak, Jason A. Otkin, Trent W. Ford, and Lauren E. L. Lowman
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1827–1851, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1827-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1827-2024, 2024
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We simulate how dynamic vegetation interacts with the atmosphere during extreme drought events known as flash droughts. We find that plants nearly halt water and carbon exchanges and limit their growth during flash drought. This work has implications for how to account for changes in vegetation state during extreme drought events when making predictions under future climate scenarios.
Mosisa Tujuba Wakjira, Nadav Peleg, Johan Six, and Peter Molnar
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-37, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-37, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
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While rainwater is a key resource in crop production, its productivity faces challenges from climate change. Using a simple model of climate, water, and crop yield interactions, we found that rain-scarce croplands in Ethiopia are likely to experience decreases in crop yield during the main growing season, primarily due to future temperature increases. These insights are crucial for shaping future water management plans, policies, and informed decision-making for climate adaptation.
Samuel Scherrer, Gabriëlle De Lannoy, Zdenko Heyvaert, Michel Bechtold, Clement Albergel, Tarek S. El-Madany, and Wouter Dorigo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4087–4114, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4087-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4087-2023, 2023
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We explored different options for data assimilation (DA) of the remotely sensed leaf area index (LAI). We found strong biases between LAI predicted by Noah-MP and observations. LAI DA that does not take these biases into account can induce unphysical patterns in the resulting LAI and flux estimates and leads to large changes in the climatology of root zone soil moisture. We tested two bias-correction approaches and explored alternative solutions to treating bias in LAI DA.
Luca Carraro
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3733–3742, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3733-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3733-2023, 2023
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Mathematical models are key to the study of environmental processes in rivers. Such models often require information on river morphology from geographic information system (GIS) software, which hinders the use of replicable workflows. Here I present rivnet, an R package for simple, robust, GIS-free extraction and analysis of river networks. The package is designed so as to require minimal user input and is oriented towards ecohydrological, ecological and biogeochemical modeling.
Stephen K. Adams, Brian P. Bledsoe, and Eric D. Stein
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3021–3039, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3021-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3021-2023, 2023
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Managing streams for environmental flows involves prioritizing healthy stream ecosystems while distributing water resources. Classifying streams of similar types is a useful step in developing environmental flows. Environmental flows are often developed on data-poor streams that must be modeled. This paper has developed a new method of classification that prioritizes model accuracy. The new method advances environmental streamflow management and modeling of data-poor watersheds.
Xinlei He, Yanping Li, Shaomin Liu, Tongren Xu, Fei Chen, Zhenhua Li, Zhe Zhang, Rui Liu, Lisheng Song, Ziwei Xu, Zhixing Peng, and Chen Zheng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1583–1606, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1583-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1583-2023, 2023
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This study highlights the role of integrating vegetation and multi-source soil moisture observations in regional climate models via a hybrid data assimilation and machine learning method. In particular, we show that this approach can improve land surface fluxes, near-surface atmospheric conditions, and land–atmosphere interactions by implementing detailed land characterization information in basins with complex underlying surfaces.
Marissa Kivi, Noemi Vergopolan, and Hamze Dokoohaki
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1173–1199, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1173-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1173-2023, 2023
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This study attempts to provide a framework for direct integration of soil moisture observations collected from soil sensors and satellite imagery into process-based crop models for improving the representation of agricultural systems. The performance of this framework was evaluated across 19 sites times years for crop yield, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil moisture, tile flow drainage, and nitrate leaching.
Yunfan Zhang, Lei Cheng, Lu Zhang, Shujing Qin, Liu Liu, Pan Liu, and Yanghe Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6379–6397, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6379-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6379-2022, 2022
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Multiyear drought has been demonstrated to cause non-stationary rainfall–runoff relationship. But whether changes can invalidate the most fundamental method (i.e., paired-catchment method (PCM)) for separating vegetation change impacts is still unknown. Using paired-catchment data with 10-year drought, PCM is shown to still be reliable even in catchments with non-stationarity. A new framework is further proposed to separate impacts of two non-stationary drivers, using paired-catchment data.
Don A. White, Shiqi Ren, Daniel S. Mendham, Francisco Balocchi-Contreras, Richard P. Silberstein, Dean Meason, Andrés Iroumé, and Pablo Ramirez de Arellano
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5357–5371, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5357-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5357-2022, 2022
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Of all the planting options for wood production and carbon storage, Eucalyptus species provoke the greatest concern about their effect on water resources. We compared Eucalyptus and Pinus species (the two most widely planted genera) by fitting a simple model to the published estimates of their annual water use. There was no significant difference between the two genera. This has important implications for the global debate around Eucalyptus and is an option for carbon forests.
Zhihui Wang, Qiuhong Tang, Daoxi Wang, Peiqing Xiao, Runliang Xia, Pengcheng Sun, and Feng Feng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5291–5314, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5291-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5291-2022, 2022
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Variable infiltration capacity simulation considering dynamic vegetation types and structural parameters is able to better capture the effect of temporally explicit vegetation change and climate variation in hydrological regimes. Vegetation greening including interannual LAI and intra-annual LAI temporal pattern change induced by large-scale ecological restoration and non-vegetation underlying surface change played dominant roles in the natural streamflow reduction of the Yellow River basin.
Pan Chen, Wenhong Li, and Keqi He
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4875–4892, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4875-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4875-2022, 2022
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The study assessed changes in total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads in response to eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) El Niño events over the Corn Belt, USA, using the SWAT model. Results showed that EP (CP) El Niño events improved (exacerbated) water quality in the region. Furthermore, EP El Niño had a much broader and longer impact on water quality at the outlets, but CP El Niño could lead to similar increases in TN/TP loads as EP El Niño at the specific watersheds.
Ralf Loritz, Maoya Bassiouni, Anke Hildebrandt, Sibylle K. Hassler, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4757–4771, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4757-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4757-2022, 2022
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In this study, we combine a deep-learning approach that predicts sap flow with a hydrological model to improve soil moisture and transpiration estimates at the catchment scale. Our results highlight that hybrid-model approaches, combining machine learning with physically based models, are a promising way to improve our ability to make hydrological predictions.
Nicholas Jarvis, Jannis Groh, Elisabet Lewan, Katharina H. E. Meurer, Walter Durka, Cornelia Baessler, Thomas Pütz, Elvin Rufullayev, and Harry Vereecken
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2277–2299, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2277-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2277-2022, 2022
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We apply an eco-hydrological model to data on soil water balance and grassland growth obtained at two sites with contrasting climates. Our results show that the grassland in the drier climate had adapted by developing deeper roots, which maintained water supply to the plants in the face of severe drought. Our study emphasizes the importance of considering such plastic responses of plant traits to environmental stress in the modelling of soil water balance and plant growth under climate change.
Remko C. Nijzink, Jason Beringer, Lindsay B. Hutley, and Stanislaus J. Schymanski
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 525–550, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-525-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-525-2022, 2022
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Most models that simulate water and carbon exchanges with the atmosphere rely on information about vegetation, but optimality models predict vegetation properties based on general principles. Here, we use the Vegetation Optimality Model (VOM) to predict vegetation behaviour at five savanna sites. The VOM overpredicted vegetation cover and carbon uptake during the wet seasons but also performed similarly to conventional models, showing that vegetation optimality is a promising approach.
Hongyu Li, Yi Luo, Lin Sun, Xiangdong Li, Changkun Ma, Xiaolei Wang, Ting Jiang, and Haoyang Zhu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 17–34, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-17-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-17-2022, 2022
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Drying soil layers (DSLs) have been extensively reported in artificial forestland in the Loess Plateau, China, which has limited water resources and deep loess. To address this issue relating to plant root–soil water interactions, this study developed a root growth model that simulates both the dynamic rooting depth and fine-root distribution. Evaluation vs. field data proved a positive performance. Long-term simulation reproduced the evolution process of the DSLs and revealed their mechanisms.
Jiancong Chen, Baptiste Dafflon, Anh Phuong Tran, Nicola Falco, and Susan S. Hubbard
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 6041–6066, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6041-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6041-2021, 2021
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The novel hybrid predictive modeling (HPM) approach uses a long short-term memory recurrent neural network to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) with only meteorological and remote-sensing inputs. We developed four use cases to demonstrate the applicability of HPM. The results indicate HPM is capable of providing ET and Reco estimations in challenging mountainous systems and enhances our understanding of watershed dynamics at sparsely monitored watersheds.
Jiehao Zhang, Yulong Zhang, Ge Sun, Conghe Song, Matthew P. Dannenberg, Jiangfeng Li, Ning Liu, Kerong Zhang, Quanfa Zhang, and Lu Hao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5623–5640, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5623-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5623-2021, 2021
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To quantify how vegetation greening impacts the capacity of water supply, we built a hybrid model and conducted a case study using the upper Han River basin (UHRB) that serves as the water source area to the world’s largest water diversion project. Vegetation greening in the UHRB during 2001–2018 induced annual water yield (WY) greatly decreased. Vegetation greening also increased the possibility of drought and reduced a quarter of WY on average during drought periods.
Aaron J. Neill, Christian Birkel, Marco P. Maneta, Doerthe Tetzlaff, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4861–4886, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4861-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4861-2021, 2021
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Structural changes (cover and height of vegetation plus tree canopy characteristics) to forests during regeneration on degraded land affect how water is partitioned between streamflow, groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration. Partitioning most strongly deviates from baseline conditions during earlier stages of regeneration with dense forest, while recovery may be possible as the forest matures and opens out. This has consequences for informing sustainable landscape restoration strategies.
Jianning Ren, Jennifer C. Adam, Jeffrey A. Hicke, Erin J. Hanan, Christina L. Tague, Mingliang Liu, Crystal A. Kolden, and John T. Abatzoglou
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4681–4699, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4681-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4681-2021, 2021
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Mountain pine beetle outbreaks have caused widespread tree mortality. While some research shows that water yield increases after trees are killed, many others document no change or a decrease. The climatic and environmental mechanisms driving hydrologic response to tree mortality are not well understood. We demonstrated that the direction of hydrologic response is a function of multiple factors, so previous studies do not necessarily conflict with each other; they represent different conditions.
Haidong Zhao, Gretchen F. Sassenrath, Mary Beth Kirkham, Nenghan Wan, and Xiaomao Lin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4357–4372, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4357-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4357-2021, 2021
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This study was done to develop an improved soil temperature model for the USA Great Plains by using common weather station variables as inputs. After incorporating knowledge of estimated soil moisture and observed daily snow depth, the improved model showed a near 50 % gain in performance compared to the original model. We conclude that our improved model can better estimate soil temperature at the surface soil layer where most hydrological and biological processes occur.
Brandon P. Sloan, Sally E. Thompson, and Xue Feng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4259–4274, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4259-2021, 2021
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Plants affect the global water and carbon cycles by modifying their water use and carbon intake in response to soil moisture. Global climate models represent this response with either simple empirical models or complex physical models. We reveal that the latter improves predictions in plants with large flow resistance; however, adding dependence on atmospheric moisture demand to the former matches performance of the latter, leading to a new tool for improving carbon and water cycle predictions.
Maria Magdalena Warter, Michael Bliss Singer, Mark O. Cuthbert, Dar Roberts, Kelly K. Caylor, Romy Sabathier, and John Stella
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3713–3729, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3713-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3713-2021, 2021
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Intensified drying of soil and grassland vegetation is raising the impact of fire severity and extent in Southern California. While browned grassland is a common sight during the dry season, this study has shown that there is a pronounced shift in the timing of senescence, due to changing climate conditions favoring milder winter temperatures and increased precipitation variability. Vegetation may be limited in its ability to adapt to these shifts, as drought periods become more frequent.
Mikael Gillefalk, Dörthe Tetzlaff, Reinhard Hinkelmann, Lena-Marie Kuhlemann, Aaron Smith, Fred Meier, Marco P. Maneta, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3635–3652, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3635-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3635-2021, 2021
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We used a tracer-aided ecohydrological model to quantify water flux–storage–age interactions for three urban vegetation types: trees, shrub and grass. The model results showed that evapotranspiration increased in the order shrub < grass < trees during one growing season. Additionally, we could show how
infiltration hotspotscreated by runoff from sealed onto vegetated surfaces can enhance both evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge.
Yuting Yang, Tim R. McVicar, Dawen Yang, Yongqiang Zhang, Shilong Piao, Shushi Peng, and Hylke E. Beck
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3411–3427, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3411-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3411-2021, 2021
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This study developed an analytical ecohydrological model that considers three aspects of vegetation response to eCO2 (i.e., stomatal response, LAI response, and rooting depth response) to detect the impact of eCO2 on continental runoff over the past 3 decades globally. Our findings suggest a minor role of eCO2 on the global runoff changes, yet highlight the negative runoff–eCO2 response in semiarid and arid regions which may further threaten the limited water resource there.
Yanlan Liu, Nataniel M. Holtzman, and Alexandra G. Konings
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2399–2417, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2399-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2399-2021, 2021
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The flow of water through plants varies with species-specific traits. To determine how they vary across the world, we mapped the traits that best allowed a model to match microwave satellite data. We also defined average values across a few clusters of trait behavior. These form a tractable solution for use in large-scale models. Transpiration estimates using these clusters were more accurate than if using plant functional types. We expect our maps to improve transpiration forecasts.
Aaron Smith, Doerthe Tetzlaff, Lukas Kleine, Marco Maneta, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2239–2259, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2239-2021, 2021
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We used a tracer-aided ecohydrological model on a mixed land use catchment in northeastern Germany to quantify water flux–storage–age interactions at four model grid resolutions. The model's ability to reproduce spatio-temporal flux–storage–age interactions decreases with increasing model grid sizes. Similarly, larger model grids showed vegetation-influenced changes in blue and green water partitioning. Simulations reveal the value of measured soil and stream isotopes for model calibration.
Yiping Hou, Mingfang Zhang, Xiaohua Wei, Shirong Liu, Qiang Li, Tijiu Cai, Wenfei Liu, Runqi Zhao, and Xiangzhuo Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1447–1466, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1447-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1447-2021, 2021
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Ecohydrological sensitivity, defined as the response intensity of streamflow to vegetation change, indicates the hydrological sensitivity to vegetation change. The study revealed seasonal ecohydrological sensitivities were highly variable, depending on climate condition and watershed attributes. Dry season ecohydrological sensitivity was mostly determined by topography, soil and vegetation, while wet season ecohydrological sensitivity was mainly controlled by soil, landscape and vegetation.
Xiangyu Luan and Giulia Vico
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1411–1423, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1411-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1411-2021, 2021
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Crop yield is reduced by heat and water stress, particularly when they co-occur. We quantify the joint effects of (unpredictable) air temperature and soil water availability on crop heat stress via a mechanistic model. Larger but more infrequent precipitation increased crop canopy temperatures. Keeping crops well watered via irrigation could reduce canopy temperature but not enough to always exclude heat damage. Thus, irrigation is only a partial solution to adapt to warmer and drier climates.
Songyan Yu, Hong Xuan Do, Albert I. J. M. van Dijk, Nick R. Bond, Peirong Lin, and Mark J. Kennard
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5279–5295, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5279-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5279-2020, 2020
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There is a growing interest globally in the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of intermittently flowing streams and rivers. We developed an approach to quantify catchment-wide flow intermittency over long time frames. Modelled patterns of flow intermittency in eastern Australia revealed highly dynamic behaviour in space and time. The developed approach is transferable to other parts of the world and can inform hydro-ecological understanding and management of intermittent streams.
Natasha MacBean, Russell L. Scott, Joel A. Biederman, Catherine Ottlé, Nicolas Vuichard, Agnès Ducharne, Thomas Kolb, Sabina Dore, Marcy Litvak, and David J. P. Moore
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5203–5230, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5203-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5203-2020, 2020
Yusen Yuan, Taisheng Du, Honglang Wang, and Lixin Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4491–4501, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4491-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4491-2020, 2020
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The isotopic composition of ambient water vapor is an important source of atmospheric water vapor and has not been able to be estimated to date using the Keeling plot approach. Here we proposed two new methods to estimate the isotopic composition of ambient water vapor: one using the intersection point method and another relying on the intermediate value theorem.
Valentin Couvreur, Youri Rothfuss, Félicien Meunier, Thierry Bariac, Philippe Biron, Jean-Louis Durand, Patricia Richard, and Mathieu Javaux
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 3057–3075, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3057-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3057-2020, 2020
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Isotopic labeling of soil water is a broadly used tool for tracing the origin of water extracted by plants and computing root water uptake (RWU) profiles with multisource mixing models. In this study, we show how a method such as this may misconstrue time series of xylem water isotopic composition as the temporal dynamics of RWU by simulating data collected during a tall fescue rhizotron experiment with an isotope-enabled physical soil–root model accounting for variability in root traits.
Thibault Hallouin, Michael Bruen, and Fiachra E. O'Loughlin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1031–1054, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1031-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1031-2020, 2020
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A hydrological model was used to compare different parameterisation strategies in view of predicting ecologically relevant streamflow indices in 33 Irish catchments. Compared for 14 different periods, a strategy fitting simulated and observed streamflow indices yielded better performance than fitting simulated and observed streamflow, but it also yielded a less consistent ensemble of parameter sets, suggesting that these indices may not be hydrologically relevant for model parameterisation.
Robert N. Armstrong, John W. Pomeroy, and Lawrence W. Martz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4891–4907, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4891-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4891-2019, 2019
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Digital and thermal images taken near midday were used to scale daily point observations of key factors driving actual-evaporation estimates across a complex Canadian Prairie landscape. Point estimates of actual evaporation agreed well with observed values via eddy covariance. Impacts of spatial variations on areal estimates were minor, and no covariance was found between model parameters driving the energy term. The methods can be applied further to improve land surface parameterisations.
Zhongkai Li, Hu Liu, Wenzhi Zhao, Qiyue Yang, Rong Yang, and Jintao Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4685–4706, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4685-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4685-2019, 2019
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A database of soil moisture measurements from the middle Heihe River basin of China was used to test the potential of a soil moisture database in estimating the soil water balance components (SWBCs). We determined SWBCs using a method that combined the soil water balance method and the inverse Richards equation. This work confirmed that relatively reasonable estimations of the SWBCs in coarse-textured sandy soils can be derived using soil moisture measurements.
Inês Gomes Marques, João Nascimento, Rita M. Cardoso, Filipe Miguéns, Maria Teresa Condesso de Melo, Pedro M. M. Soares, Célia M. Gouveia, and Cathy Kurz Besson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3525–3552, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3525-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3525-2019, 2019
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Mediterranean cork woodlands are very particular agroforestry systems present in a confined area of the Mediterranean Basin. They are of great importance due to their high socioeconomic value; however, a decrease in water availability has put this system in danger. In this paper we build a model that explains this system's tree-species distribution in southern Portugal from environmental variables. This could help predict their future distribution under changing climatic conditions.
Samuli Launiainen, Mingfu Guan, Aura Salmivaara, and Antti-Jussi Kieloaho
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3457–3480, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3457-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3457-2019, 2019
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Boreal forest evapotranspiration and water cycle is modeled at stand and catchment scale using physiological and physical principles, open GIS data and daily weather data. The approach can predict daily evapotranspiration well across Nordic coniferous-dominated stands and successfully reproduces daily streamflow and annual evapotranspiration across boreal headwater catchments in Finland. The model is modular and simple and designed for practical applications over large areas using open data.
Regina T. Hirl, Hans Schnyder, Ulrike Ostler, Rudi Schäufele, Inga Schleip, Sylvia H. Vetter, Karl Auerswald, Juan C. Baca Cabrera, Lisa Wingate, Margaret M. Barbour, and Jérôme Ogée
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2581–2600, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2581-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2581-2019, 2019
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We evaluated the system-scale understanding of the propagation of the oxygen isotope signal (δ18O) of rain through soil and xylem to leaf water in a temperate drought-prone grassland. Biweekly δ18O observations of the water pools made during seven growing seasons were accurately reproduced by the 18O-enabled process-based model MuSICA. While water uptake occurred from shallow soil depths throughout dry and wet periods, leaf water 18O enrichment responded to both soil and atmospheric moisture.
Christoph Schürz, Brigitta Hollosi, Christoph Matulla, Alexander Pressl, Thomas Ertl, Karsten Schulz, and Bano Mehdi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1211–1244, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1211-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1211-2019, 2019
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For two Austrian catchments we simulated discharge and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) considering future changes of climate, land use, and point source emissions together with the impact of different setups and parametrizations of the implemented eco-hydrological model. In a comprehensive analysis we identified the dominant sources of uncertainty for the simulation of discharge and NO3-N and further examined how specific properties of the model inputs control the future simulation results.
Yu-Ting Shih, Pei-Hao Chen, Li-Chin Lee, Chien-Sen Liao, Shih-Hao Jien, Fuh-Kwo Shiah, Tsung-Yu Lee, Thomas Hein, Franz Zehetner, Chung-Te Chang, and Jr-Chuan Huang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6579–6590, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6579-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6579-2018, 2018
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DOC and DIC export in Taiwan shows that the annual DOC and DIC fluxes were 2.7–4.8 and 48.4–54.3 ton C km2 yr1, respectively, which were approximately 2 and 20 times higher than the global means of 1.4 and 2.6 ton C km2 yr1, respectively.
Zun Yin, Catherine Ottlé, Philippe Ciais, Matthieu Guimberteau, Xuhui Wang, Dan Zhu, Fabienne Maignan, Shushi Peng, Shilong Piao, Jan Polcher, Feng Zhou, Hyungjun Kim, and other China-Trend-Stream project members
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5463–5484, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5463-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5463-2018, 2018
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Simulations in China were performed in ORCHIDEE driven by different forcing datasets: GSWP3, PGF, CRU-NCEP, and WFDEI. Simulated soil moisture was compared to several datasets to evaluate the ability of ORCHIDEE in reproducing soil moisture dynamics. Results showed that ORCHIDEE soil moisture coincided well with other datasets in wet areas and in non-irrigated areas. It suggested that the ORCHIDEE-MICT was suitable for further hydrological studies in China.
Matthias J. R. Speich, Heike Lischke, and Massimiliano Zappa
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4097–4124, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4097-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4097-2018, 2018
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To simulate the water balance of, e.g., a forest plot, it is important to estimate the maximum volume of water available to plants. This depends on soil properties and the average depth of roots. Rooting depth has proven challenging to estimate. Here, we applied a model assuming that plants dimension their roots to optimize their carbon budget. We compared its results with values obtained by calibrating a dynamic water balance model. In most cases, there is good agreement between both methods.
Gordon C. O'Brien, Chris Dickens, Eleanor Hines, Victor Wepener, Retha Stassen, Leo Quayle, Kelly Fouchy, James MacKenzie, P. Mark Graham, and Wayne G. Landis
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 957–975, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-957-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-957-2018, 2018
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In global water resource allocation, robust tools are required to establish environmental flows. In addition, tools should characterize past, present and future consequences of altered flows and non-flow variables to social and ecological management objectives. PROBFLO is a risk assessment method designed to meet best practice principles for regional-scale holistic E-flow assessments. The approach has been developed in Africa and applied across the continent.
Katrina E. Bennett, Theodore J. Bohn, Kurt Solander, Nathan G. McDowell, Chonggang Xu, Enrique Vivoni, and Richard S. Middleton
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 709–725, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-709-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-709-2018, 2018
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We applied the Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrologic model to examine scenarios of change under climate and landscape disturbances in the San Juan River basin, a major sub-watershed of the Colorado River basin. Climate change coupled with landscape disturbance leads to reduced streamflow in the San Juan River basin. Disturbances are expected to be widespread in this region. Therefore, accounting for these changes within the context of climate change is imperative for water resource planning.
Fernando Jaramillo, Neil Cory, Berit Arheimer, Hjalmar Laudon, Ype van der Velde, Thomas B. Hasper, Claudia Teutschbein, and Johan Uddling
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 567–580, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-567-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-567-2018, 2018
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Which is the dominant effect on evapotranspiration in northern forests, an increase by recent forests expansion or a decrease by the water use response due to increasing CO2 concentrations? We determined the dominant effect during the period 1961–2012 in 65 Swedish basins. We used the Budyko framework to study the hydroclimatic movements in Budyko space. Our findings suggest that forest expansion is the dominant driver of long-term and large-scale evapotranspiration changes.
Jie Zhu, Ge Sun, Wenhong Li, Yu Zhang, Guofang Miao, Asko Noormets, Steve G. McNulty, John S. King, Mukesh Kumar, and Xuan Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6289–6305, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6289-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6289-2017, 2017
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Forested wetlands provide myriad ecosystem services threatened by climate change. This study develops empirical hydrologic models by synthesizing hydrometeorological data across the southeastern US. We used global climate projections to model hydrological changes for five wetlands. We found all wetlands are predicted to become drier by the end of this century. This study suggests that climate change may substantially affect wetland biogeochemical cycles and other functions in the future.
Guiomar Ruiz-Pérez, Julian Koch, Salvatore Manfreda, Kelly Caylor, and Félix Francés
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6235–6251, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6235-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6235-2017, 2017
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Plants are shaping the landscape and controlling the hydrological cycle, particularly in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Remote sensing data appears as an appealing source of information for vegetation monitoring, in particular in areas with a limited amount of available field data. Here, we present an example of how remote sensing data can be exploited in a data-scarce basin. We propose a mathematical methodology that can be used as a springboard for future applications.
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Short summary
Drought often manifests itself in vegetation; however, obtaining high-resolution remote-sensing products that are spatially and temporally consistent is difficult. In this study, we show that machine learning (ML) can fill data gaps in existing products. We also demonstrate that ML can be used as a downscaling tool. By relying on ML for gap filling and downscaling, we can obtain a more holistic view of the impacts of drought on vegetation.
Drought often manifests itself in vegetation; however, obtaining high-resolution remote-sensing...
