Understanding the Factors That Influence Headwater Stream Flows in Response to Storm Events1

Abstract

Understanding the factors that influence headwater stream flows in response to storm events., headwater stream sites during a drought year. Highest discharges were observed in the most developed catchments and in the most poorly drained soils, but specific responses were variable depending on both geology and land disturbance. Redundancy analysis indicated that both surficial geology and land disturbance were important predictors of discharge and that rainfall was in general a poor predictor of discharge. I conclude that responses of headwater streams to individual storms are unpredictable from data generated using GIS, but increased peak flows occur associated with human development, mitigated by surficial geology. The headwater streams that are most vulnerable to flow alterations occur on poorly drained soils, and where urbanization tends to concentrate. Much greater attention to managing water is required if further degradation of stream ecosystems is to be prevented from our future land use.iii Acknowledgements:

How Proximity of Land Use Affects Stream Fish and Habitat

“…These findings provide even more support of the importance of these features in maintaining catchment processes that are integral to stream health, as is suggested by a growing literature on headwater streams (for a synthesis , see Richardson and Danehy, ; Schiff and Benoit, ). Headwater features, in Southern Ontario, currently have received little attention or protection; hence, they are often buried, ditched, ploughed through or otherwise disconnected from downstream watercourses (Stanfield and Jackson, ). We anticipate that headwater streams in other locales are treated likewise (Adams, ).…”

Comparison of uncertainty in multi-parameter and multi-model ensemble hydrologic analysis of climate change

“…CC-BY 3.0 License. (Frisbee et al, 2011;Stanfield and Jackson, 2011;Frisbee et al, 2012). The hydrological responses of local head watersheds to climate change would, therefore, be clearly explained at small spatial scales.…”

Reporting on the condition of stream fish communities in the Canadian tributaries of Lake Ontario, at various spatial scales

“…The extensive deep deposits consisting mostly of sands and gravels of the moraine, and the fractured and karst nature of the escarpment, provide large volumes of groundwater discharge to the streams that originate from them. These features as well as settlement patterns generate both a south to north and a west to east gradient of development (Stanfield and Jackson, 2011) in the study area. Most forested areas are located on top of the moraine and escarpment, along the river valleys and remnant wetlands; low intensity agriculture dominates the tablelands; and urban areas are predominant in proximity to Lake Ontario and in the west-central part of the study area.…”