Articles | Volume 29, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2749-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2749-2025
Research article
 | 
02 Jul 2025
Research article |  | 02 Jul 2025

Drought decreases annual streamflow response to precipitation, especially in arid regions

Alessia Matanó, Raed Hamed, Manuela I. Brunner, Marlies H. Barendrecht, and Anne F. Van Loon

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Cited articles

Adams, H. D., Luce, C. H., Breshears, D. D., Allen, C. D., Weiler, M., Hale, V. C., Smith, A. M. S., and Huxman, T. E.: Ecohydrological consequences of drought- and infestation-triggered tree die-off: Insights and hypotheses, Ecohydrology, 5, 145–159, https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.233, 2012. 
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Alvarez-Garreton, C., Boisier, J. P., Garreaud, R., Seibert, J., and Vis, M.: Progressive water deficits during multiyear droughts in basins with long hydrological memory in Chile, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 429–446, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-429-2021, 2021. 
Anderegg, W. R. L., Konings, A. G., Trugman, A. T., Yu, K., Bowling, D. R., Gabbitas, R., Karp, D. S., Pacala, S., Sperry, J. S., Sulman, B. N., and Zenes, N.: Hydraulic diversity of forests regulates ecosystem resilience during drought, Nature, 561, 538–541, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0539-7, 2018. 
Anderson, B. J., Brunner, M. I., Slater, L. J., and Dadson, S. J.: Elasticity curves describe streamflow sensitivity to precipitation across the entire flow distribution, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1567–1583, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1567-2024, 2024. 
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Short summary
Persistent droughts change how rivers respond to rainfall. Our study of over 5000 catchments worldwide found that hydrological and soil moisture droughts decrease river-flow response to rain, especially in arid regions, while vegetation decline slightly increases it. Snow-covered areas are more resilient due to stored water buffering changes. Droughts can also cause long-lasting changes, with short and intense droughts reducing river response to rainfall and prolonged droughts increasing it.
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