Hydrological response to land use changes in Central European lowland forest catchments

Abstract

The influence of forest environment characteristics especially forest vegetation and soil are the main causative, non-climatic agents shaping water processes in forest ecosystems. The impact of land cover changes on direct runoff from a forest catchment was examined. Hydrological modeling was employed. The runoff module of the model was cascade of linear reservoir solution. The rainfall separation module is based on the SCS-CN method altered by means of a unique methodology. Thus, the main investigation effort was applied to work out a methodological solution. The model was tested in a lowland forest catchment located in the Polish part of Central European Plain. Calibration was performed for the current cover state along with simulation for 9 hypothetical cases and a case based on reconstruction of the historic state of land cover. The cases of land cover state were developed on the basis of qualitative and/or quantitative vegetation property changes.