 |
| Titel |
Hurricane impacts on a pair of coastal forested watersheds: implications of selective hurricane damage to forest structure and streamflow dynamics |
| VerfasserIn |
A. D. Jayakaran, T. M. Williams, H. Ssegane, D. M. Amatya, B. Song, C. C. Trettin |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
|
| Sprache |
Englisch
|
| ISSN |
1027-5606
|
| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ; 18, no. 3 ; Nr. 18, no. 3 (2014-03-26), S.1151-1164 |
| Datensatznummer |
250120313
|
| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/hess-18-1151-2014.pdf |
|
|
|
|
|
| Zusammenfassung |
| Hurricanes are infrequent but influential disruptors of ecosystem processes
in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Every southeastern forested
wetland has the potential to be struck by a tropical cyclone. We examined the
impact of Hurricane Hugo on two paired coastal South Carolina watersheds in
terms of streamflow and vegetation dynamics, both before and after the
hurricane's passage in 1989. The study objectives were to quantify the
magnitude and timing of changes including a reversal in relative
streamflow difference between two paired watersheds, and to examine the
selective impacts of a hurricane on the vegetative composition of the forest.
We related these impacts to their potential contribution to change watershed
hydrology through altered evapotranspiration processes. Using over 30 years of monthly rainfall and streamflow data we showed that there was a
significant transformation in the hydrologic character of the two watersheds
– a transformation that occurred soon after the hurricane's passage. We
linked the change in the rainfall–runoff relationship to a catastrophic
change in forest vegetation due to selective hurricane damage. While both
watersheds were located in the path of the hurricane, extant forest structure
varied between the two watersheds as a function of experimental forest
management techniques on the treatment watershed. We showed that the primary
damage was to older pines, and to some extent larger hardwood trees. We
believe that lowered vegetative water use impacted both watersheds with
increased outflows on both watersheds due to loss of trees following
hurricane impact. However, one watershed was able to recover to pre hurricane
levels of evapotranspiration at a quicker rate due to the greater abundance
of pine seedlings and saplings in that watershed. |
| |
|
| Teil von |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|