Hillslope and wetland hydrodynamics in a tussock grassland, South Island, New Zealand

Abstract

AbstractPrevious research on two experimental catchments at the Glendhu Forest (Otago) showed that runoff dynamics from this landscape differ substantially from other areas in New Zealand. In particular, the recession curves from these catchments have two distinct phases: a rapid decline for a period of several hours, followed by a slow decline that may last many days to weeks. In the current study, soil water matric potential measurements indicated that perched saturated zones develop very rapidly in the surface (0–30 cm) soil horizons. Deep (50–250 cm) loess horizons remain moist throughout the year and may be near or at saturation at the bedrock contact, and respond only slowly to rain events. Soils in the middle horizons are often drier than the surface soil above or the deep soils below. Throughflow measurements showed that storm runoff occurs primarily as interflow through a retentive but pervious mat of mosses, litter, and roots at the soil surface. Despite the presence of abundant earthworm burrows, less water is transmitted through the soil horizon just below this surface mat. Only a small fraction of stormflow was transmitted through the deep, mineral horizons. However, baseflow could be sustained for long periods (up to 4 weeks) from unsaturated flow of soil moisture stored in the deep loess horizons. Water storage in bog peats and associated riparian soils (which are numerous in this area) is insufficient to sustain baseflow for more than a few days. The results from this study are consistent with previous hydrometric, soils, and isotopic observations and suggest that any land‐use practices that disrupt the surface soil horizons are likely to change the runoff characteristics of this area. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.