Exploring hydrological controls on dissolved organic carbon export dynamics in a typical flash flood catchment using a process-based model

Abstract

The dynamics of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export from headwater catchments are of critical importance for the global carbon balance and are driven by complex runoff processes. Most previous studies have used statistical relationships between runoff and DOC concentration to estimate DOC export dynamics. Thus, the coupling mechanisms between runoff generation and DOC export dynamics at the process level were obscured in the fitting parameters and have rarely been addressed. In this study, high-frequency (hourly) discharge and DOC export from a typical flash flood experimental headwater catchment with an area of 1.8 km2 were simulated using a process-based model (INCA-C). The results showed that the INCA-C model successfully captured the hourly dynamics of both discharge and DOC concentrations with a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.47–0.81 and 0.28–0.70 among moderate events and 0.81–0.85 and 0.19–0.90 among extreme events, respectively. The DOC was exported with distinct concentration dynamics, fluxes, and contributions from the four flow pathways under different storm intensities. At higher intensities, the DOC fluxes were exported by subsurface flows, particularly from shallow organic soil, with greater peaks and shorter time-to-peaks. Exported DOC is primarily sourced from subsurface runoff from the mineral layer (73 %–77 %) during moderate events, whereas it is primarily sourced from subsurface runoff from the organic layer (61 %–79 %) during extreme events. The two contrasting contributions suggest that hydrological pathway controls and DOC dynamic patterns can shift owing to runoff generation influenced by storm intensity. The distinct and variable controls of different flow pathways on DOC export highlight the need to explain the role of hydrology in regulating DOC storm exports through process-based modelling.