Response time of forested mountainous watersheds in humid regions

Abstract

This study proposes an analytical method for the estimation of time lag for forested mountainous watersheds. The water flow in a watershed is separated and analyzed in two phases, the land or hillslope phase and the stream channel phase. In many areas around the globe the flow in a forested high gradient watershed is generated through subsurface pathways as several field experiments have shown. The kinematic wave theory is used to describe the generation of flow from steep forested hillslopes. This hillslope runoff is, then, used as input to the stream channels. The equations were developed by assuming kinematic conditions in the stream channel and that the stream slope and the roughness coefficient i) vary according to a second order polynomial with the distance from the mouth of the watershed, ii) vary linearly with the distance from the outlet of the watershed, and iii) are constant throughout the watershed. Comparison of the results of the proposed equation with data from two experimental watersheds in Coastal British Columbia indicates that the three expressions of the proposed equation, even the simplest one assuming constant stream slope and roughness coefficient, are reliable and give good approximation of the observed time lag.