Runoff Formation Research Articles

Results of the study of desert soil as a source of surface runoff formation

The Kyzyl Kum Desert in Uzbekistan has not been adequately studied, despite the fact that it occupies more than half (68.7%) of the country’s territory. Even in ancient times, the lands of Kyzyl Kum were used as pasture and now these lands are a classic example of distant pasture animal husbandry, including karakul breeding. The industry is developing with guaranteed sales markets, whose products are export items. In the desert, the main factor in the cultivation of crops is the lack of water resources, and the resources of the rivers of Uzbekistan are almost completely depleted. The aim of the study is to scientifically substantiate the possible volumes of surface runoff in the desert, which could be used in the interests of agricultural production, as well as for the creation of local systems of domestic drinking water supply.

Влияние осеннего увлажнения почв на эрозионно-аккумулятивные процессы в Красноярской лесостепи

The results of field observations of erosion-accumulation processes caused by meltwater in the northern zone of the Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe in 2009-2017 are discussed. Hydrometeorological conditions of melt runoff formation during the study period and their influence on the values of washout and accumulation are analyzed. Data on snow cover, soil moisture in the pre-winter period, meltwater flow to the soil surface, and spring and autumn runoff are compared. Attention is focused on the autumn soil moisture. The correlation between the values of washout and preceding autumn moisture is revealed. Other things being equal, among all hydrometeorological factors on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe, pre-winter soil moisture has a significant impact on the intensity of erosion-accumulation processes. Keywords: soil washout, erosion, autumn moisture, hydrometeorological factors, runoff, snow cover, humidity, freezing, water permeability

Hydrological regime and runoff formation of the Chulym river and its analysis

One of the main problems of hydrology is the formation of rainfall floods and the assessment of the hydrological regime of rivers. Analysis of the factors of river runoff formation helps to calculate the main hydrological characteristics even in the river sections not illuminated by field data. One of the regional methods for calculating hydrological characteristics is the calculation of the dependences of runoff characteristics on the physical and geographical factors of the catchment area. Such calculations are based on the results of generalizing the data of hydrometeorological observations in the design area. There is often a need for runoff characteristics in the design section of the river where there are no field data of hydrometric observations, and this problem is considered in the proposed study. This is the first time this approach has been implemented for the Chulym River. This article examines the analysis of the factors of the river runoff of the Chulym river, which makes it possible to make objective calculations of the main hydrological characteristics in the sections of the rivers not illuminated by field observations.

Regularities of spring runoff formation and erosion under the influence of forest and agrotechnical rec-lamation in the southern chernozem of the Volga region

The purpose of the study was to determine the regularities of the spring formation elements of water balance and soil erosion under the influence of a set of anti-erosion techniques based on long-term observations (1964-2020). The research object was created in 1964 on the land of the farm “Vyazovsky”. The complex of anti-erosion techniques consists of two forest strips 300 m apart, reinforced with ditches. The inter-lane space was developed by crop rotations and pasture with the use of mulched crevices to combat, with silting and ice content of cracks. The dose of straw sections at a distance between the slits of 1.4 m – 4.8 t / ha. Forest belts accumulate snow by 33.3% more than open agricultural landscapes, and in low-snow winters, the effect of snow deposition increases by another 20%. Long-term studies of spring runoff on land in the steppe of the Volga upland allowed us to recommend the appropriate values of 10% probability of excess for creating soil protection complexes from erosion: moldboard ploughland – 25 mm, moldboardless ploughland– 47 mm, winter crops и grass pastures – 65 mm. The content of southern chernozem with A+B <0.5 m at the permissible level of erosion equal to 0.3 t / ha is possible when a complex of anti-erosion forest reclamation and agrotechnical techniques is introduced into the technology of crop cultivation. Regression and correlation analysis found that the spring runoff coefficient and spring soil erosion depend on the amount of water reserves in the snow and the degree of protection of land from erosion by anti-erosion techniques by 92-99%.

Classification and Zoning of Rivers by Their Water Regime: History, Methodology, and Perspectives

Among all hydrological factors, water regime characteristics have always received special attention as integral parameters of the hydrological conditions of a water body, because they can be used in various estimation and forecast procedures. This study considers the development, in both Russia and other countries, of various theories and approaches to zoning the territories by the specific features of the water regime of riv-ers. The evolution of the classification developed by the late XX century, reflects changes in the level of knowledge about river basins and the accumulation of data on their runoff formation conditions. It is shown that the development of specialized databases, containing information about the characteristics of climate and river runoff, thematic electronic GIS-projects, and maps have determined the development of modern quantitative methods. The incorporation of a large volume of hydrometeorological data, the automatization of the means for processing and interpretation of data on river runoff characteristics, software complexes, supporting databases and geoinformation technologies, and web-applications made it possible to pass from general geographic and descriptive classifications and zoning to quantitative approaches, based on rigorous calculations of runoff characteristics and the development of new criteria characterizing the specific features of river water regimes, which can be of use in various economic branches.

Modeling of Extreme Hydrological Events in the Baksan River Basin, the Central Caucasus, Russia

High mountain areas are prone to extreme hydrological events, and their study is especially important in the context of ongoing intensive deglaciation. In this research, a model “chain” consisting of a hydrodynamic model and a runoff formation model is adopted to simulate a glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) from Bashkara Lake (the Central Caucasus, Russia) and its effect on downstream. In addition to an actual GLOF event that occurred on 1 September 2017 and led to casualties and significant destruction in the Adylsu and Baksan Rivers valleys, possible scenarios for the re-outburst of the lake are considered. The hydrographs of the outburst and the downstream movement of the flood wave along the Adylsu River valley are estimated using STREAM_2D two-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The water discharges in the entire river network of the Baksan River are assessed using the ECOMAG (ECOlogical Model for Applied Geophysics) runoff formation model. The output flood hydrograph from the hydrodynamic model is set as additional input into the Baksan River runoff formation model in the upper reaches of the Adylsu River. As a result of the simulations, estimates for the contribution of GLOFs and precipitation to an increase in peak discharge along the Baksan River were obtained. The actual outburst flood contributed 45% and precipitation 30% to the peak flow in the Baksan River at the mouth of the Adylsu River (10 km from the outburst site). In Tyrnyauz (40 km from the outburst site), the contributions of the outburst flood and precipitation were equal and, in Zayukovo (70 km from the outburst site), the outburst flood contributed only 20% to the peak flow, whereas precipitation contributed 44%. Similar calculations were made for future potential re-outburst flood, taking into account climatic changes with an increase in air temperatures of 2 °C, an increase in precipitation of 10% in winter and a decrease of 10% in summer. The maximum discharge of the re-outburst flood in the Adylsu River mouth, according to model estimations, will be approximately three times less than the discharge of the actual outburst on 1 September 2017 and can contribute up to 18% of the peak discharge in the Baksan River at the confluence.

Improving Runoff Simulation and Forecasting with Segmenting Delay of Baseflow from Fast Surface Flow in Montane High-Vegetation-Covered Catchments

Due to the complicated terrain conditions in montane catchments, runoff formation is fast and complicated, making accurate simulation and forecasting a significant hydrological challenge. In this study, the spatiotemporal variable source mixed runoff generation module (SVSMRG) was integrated with the long short-term memory (LSTM) method, to develop a semi-distributed model (SVSMRG)-based surface flow and baseflow segmentation (SVSMRG-SBS). Herein, the baseflow was treated as a black box and forecasted using LSTM, while the surface flow was simulated using the SVSMRG module based on hydrological response units (HRUs) constructed using eco-geomorphological units. In the case study, four typical montane catchments with different climatic conditions and high vegetation coverage, located in the topographically varying mountains of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, were selected for runoff and flood process simulations using the proposed SVSMRG-SBS model. The results showed that this model had good performance in hourly runoff and flood process simulations for montane catchments. Regarding runoff simulations, the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) and correlation coefficient (R2) reached 0.8241 and 0.9097, respectively. Meanwhile, for the flood simulations, the NSE ranged from 0.5923 to 0.7467, and R2 ranged from 0.6669 to 0.8092. For the 1-, 3-, and 5-h baseflow forecasting with the LSTM method, it was found that model performances declined when simulating the runoff processes, wherein the NSE and R2 between the measured and modeled runoff decreased from 0.8216 to 0.8087 and from 0.9095 to 0.8871, respectively. Similar results were found in the flood simulations, the NSE and R2 values declined from 0.7414–0.5885 to 0.7429–0.5716 and from 0.8042–0.6547 to 0.7936–0.6067, respectively. This means that this new model achieved perfect performance in montane catchment runoff and flood simulation and forecasting with 1-, 3-, 5-h steps. Therefore, as it considers vegetation regulation, the SVSMRG-SBS model is expected to improve runoff and flood simulation accuracy in montane high-vegetation-covered catchments.

Spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of runoff-pollutants from three types of urban pavements

Pavement runoff is recognized as a primary source of non-point pollution in the urban area. It is difficult to treat the runoff-pollutants from different pavements because of complex distribution characteristics and influencing factors. This study presents the results of an experimental investigation aimed at determining the impact of three types of urban pavements, i.e., portland cement concrete pavements (PCC), dense asphalt concrete pavements (DAC) and permeable asphalt concrete pavements (PAC) on the rainfall-runoff process, concentration levels, and spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of typical runoff-pollutants. Runoff samples from the three types of urban pavements were collected and analyzed at different time-intervals beginning from runoff formation. The results indicated that PAC could better intercept and retain runoff-pollutants than DAC and PCC. In addition to the types of pavements, road-traffic characteristics and the surrounding environment significantly impacted the event mean concentrations of the selected rainfall events. Concentrations of suspended solids and heavy metals were higher at intersections and crosswalks, while those of organic pollutants were high in commercial areas. Besides, three parameters were proposed to characterize the first-flush effect intensity for runoff-pollutants. These findings help better understand the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of runoff-pollutants from different types of urban pavements, which could also help strategically select measures to treat pavement runoff pollution.

Model of rainwater runoff formation on the surface of complex topography

The article discusses the issues of water disposal, with curvilinear coatings. The tasks of calculating rainfall at industrial sites and urban areas of complex topography arise in the process of modern urban construction.Modern requirements for design quality necessitate accurate calculations of rainfall, location, size and number of drainage devices. The article points out the existence of a gap between the practice of calculating rainfall runoff and the theory of mathematical modeling of runoff. Also, modern mathematical models of the formation of rainfall are analyzed. A runoff model is proposed that provides a compatible consideration of the relationship between flow rates and water volumes in the area with the runoff genetic formula. The catchment area is torn by a network of lines of greatest slope and isochrones. For each elementary site, the ratio of the water balance is determined.The continuity equation for the catchment is obtained. For the numerical implementation of the runoff model, a difference scheme is used. Specific programs are provided for the developed algorithms.A computer program in the MatLab language has been developed for the proposed runoff model. The program has been tested at specific facilities.

Влияние климатических изменений на вертикальный влагообмен в почвах (на примере бассейна реки Волги)

The effect of climatic changes on surface and underground runoff cannot be explained without studying such changes on such processes of moisture transfer in soils as infiltration, evaporation, migration of moisture to the frost front. These processes are components of moisture exchange in soils and almost completely determine the mechanisms of runoff formation and its climatic interconformity. The paper discloses the main links of vertical moisture exchange in soils with environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed and water vapor pressure. On the example of the Volga basin, changes in moisture flows in soils over the past decades are considered. Methods. To reveal the patterns of moisture exchange, a physically sound mathematical model of vertical heat-moisture transfer in soils and snow cover was used. Numerical experiments were carried out to assess the impact of all the main weather factors that cause long-term changes in vertical moisture flows in soils for the period 1952-2019. Results. Calculations showed that in the 1970s there were significant changes in soil moisture flows. There was a preferential increase in downstream flows and a decrease in upstream flows, which under certain weather conditions led to an increase in the level of groundwater. In recent decades, the growth of descending soil moisture flows in the river basin. Volga and, accordingly, groundwater levels have slowed down.

Оценка эластичности стока рек восточной части бассейна Амура

Taking into account the unstable moisture regime and the diversity of landscapes within the Amur River basin, the problem of assessing the impact of climatic changes on the processes of surface water cycle in the region becomes multifaceted, associated with the solution of particular problems. This work studied the reaction of a river runoff to changes in the amount of atmospheric precipitation on the basis of the elasticity coefficient. Small and medium-sized river basins (52 in total) belonging to the system of the Middle and Lower Amur are the objects of this study. The data of standard observations at hydrological posts and meteorological points for the summer-autumn flood hazard period (June-September) were used. The data series were selected to include different moisture conditions. It was found that with an increase in precipitation by 1 %, the river runoff in the flood hazard season has increased by 1.02–3.86 % in 48 cases, and decreased in 4 cases. The results of the work are fundamentally close to the regional estimates within the basin of the Amur River on the base of the analysis of factual material (including the near abroad) and simulation results, as well as to the values of the runoff elasticity coefficient obtained in different geographic zones and given in the specialized literature. The relationship between the elasticity coefficient values of runoff with various basin indicators has been studied. For the rivers in the Primorsky Kray (catchment area of the Ussuri River), the relationship between the elasticity coefficient values and the seasonal runoff and precipitation, the runoff coefficient, average height, catchments slopes and average river network slopes has been revealed. The influence of local conditions of runoff formation on the river basins response to changes in the amount of atmospheric precipitation is discussed.

Perspectives of the development of complex interdisciplinary hydrological and geocryological research in the North-East of Russia

Climate warming and anthropogenic impact causes transformation of geocryological conditions in the river basins of the North-East of Russia. Changes in the thickness of the active layer, configuration of taliks, types of landscapes and other factors lead to transformation of water exchange processes between surface and groundwater runoff. This is manifested in the seasonal redistribution of the components of the water balance, accelerated melting of aufeis, change in the ratio of waters of different genesis in the structure of river runoff. As a result, natural and anthropogenic risks that affect the safe and efficient development of infrastructure and socio-economic processes are increasing. At the same time the system of observations developed in the Soviet period has been practically destroyed in the region. This paper offers a vision of organizing complex multidisciplinary research to assess and project the changes in the conditions of underground and surface water interaction in natural and disturbed river basins of the cryolithozone of the North-East of Russia, including for solving applied problems, based on permafrost, hydrology, hydrogeology, landscape science and geophysics with applications of remote sensing and field research integrated through mathematical modeling methods. To achieve the goal, the identification of natural and disturbed landscapes using remote sensing data, and key areas for detailed research will be selected. Geophysical and drilling works will be carried out within the sites to establish permafrost-hydrogeological conditions, monitoring stations will be equipped to determine hydrogeological, hydrometeorological and geocryological characteristics, including sampling for isotopic and hydrogeochemical studies. As the main key sites, it is proposed to use the area of ​​the Kolyma water-balance station and the site on Anmangynda aufeis, for which there are long-term observation series in the 20th century. Field data will become the basis for improving the mathematical model of runoff formation, considering the relationship between groundwater and river runoff in the conditions of permafrost. Mathematical modeling will make it possible to quantitatively analyze the water balance of rivers considering various factors and project water availability both for specific industrial facilities and for the region as a whole.

Катастрофические паводки в бассейне Ангары в 2019 ГОДУ: моделирование условий формирования и водного режима рек

The main factors of extraordinary rainfall floods formation on the Angara River left tributaries in the summer of 2019, which caused catastrophic floods in the Irkutsk oblast, were investigated. On the basis of information modeling system, the core of which is a physically based model of runoff formation ECOMAG, a spatial distributed regional hydrological model was developed. The model performance was evaluated against the longterm (35 years) data of hydrometeorological observations in the five river basins of the region. It was found that the simulated stream flow hydrographs and the peak flow values fit satisfactorily (in terms of the assigned statistical criteria) to the corresponding observations. Based on the spatial modeling results, fields of the hydrological cycle characteristics (precipitation, snow water equivalent, soil moisture) in the upper Angara basin in the summer of 2019 were analyzed. It was shown that the main factors in the formation of catastrophic floods on the Iya River were extreme precipitation combined with small losses of runoff for infiltration into preliminary saturated soils. The simulated peak flow discharge on the river near city of Tulun exceeded the historical maximum by 40% and amounted to 5640 m 3 /s. The spatial and temporal peculiarities of the two flood waves formation on the studied Angara River left tributaries in 2019 were analyzed.

Mathematical model for the duration of runoff formation determined from the road surface

IntroductionMany scientists were engaged in the problems of studying the runoff formation conditions from the water-intake basins area and studying the operation of rainwater drainage systems and its calculations. Among them: Alekseev M. I., Belov М. М., Dykarevskyi V. S., Kurganov А. М., Zhuk V. M., Tkachuk S. G., Salchuk V. L., Tkatchuk O. A., Shevchuk O. V., Dziopak J., James W., Horton R., Huber W., Mays L. W., Rossman L. A., Weitman D. [1–9] and others. The drainage systems calculation is implemented based on empirical or semi-empirical studies for pipes or open water bodies. Unlike the generally accepted conditions for the urban city areas drainage elements calculation, highways have the features of runoff and the formation of maximum runoff. Artificial surfaces of surface runoff are characterized by low water absorption, significant longitudinal and transverse slopes. According to State Building Norms DBN V.2.3–4:2015 «Highways. Part I. Design. Part II. Construction», the largest longitudinal slope for a category I road is 40 %, the carriageway transverse slope on straight sections is 25 %. In the world of engineering practice there is no single generally accepted approach to the construction of hydrographs of rainwater inflow to surface drainage structures. Therefore, the question remains open in terms of establishing the estimated rain duration and the surface runoff volume from the roads surface in particular. Goal and problemTo explore and establish the main factors and their parameters for the surface runoff formation from road surfaces. Research methodsIn engineering practice, forecasting the estimated rain duration is defined as the time from its beginning to the time of collection by the drainage system. This research is based on the prediction method and analysis of the factors, which influence the effluents movement on the coating surface of the linear in the plan water-intake basins. Conducting research with the forecasted natural meteorological phenomenon and at the minimum estimated rain intensity values according to climatic conditions of Ukraine. ResultsThe analysis of known methods for duration of surface runoff formation determining performed. For its determination, it is suggested to take into account the surface wetting duration and the influence of the viscous component of the friction force between the runoff layers. An analytical dependence for the surface runoff formation duration determining for highways with asphalt concrete pavement and variable longitudinal slope in the range from 0‰ to 30‰ is obtained. The influence of wastewater viscoelastic properties is determined. The influence of the calculated precipitation intensity on the surface runoff formation duration for linear water-intake basins is determined. ConclusionsA mathematical model for determining the surface runoff formation duration for linear water-intake basin, namely highways, taking into account the estimated highway slope, the width of the carriageway, the estimated rainfall. A comparative analysis with existing methods is performed.

Forecasting Water Inflow into the Tsimlyansk Reservoir during Spring Flood under Current Climate Conditions: Problems and Reproducibility

Studies of water balance and variations of water regime of rivers in the Don Basin have shown a steady trend toward a decrease in spring flood volumes and an increase in runoff volume in winter since the mid-1980s. More frequent thaws have resulted in that snowmelt runoff formation can be seen almost throughout winter. A decrease in soil moisture content in the late October along with a decrease in the maximal freezing depth in the major portion of the basin increases water losses during thaws and at the early stages of spring flood. At a considerable decrease in the water equivalent of snow cover along with an appreciable increase in water losses, spring flood will not occur in some years. Therefore, changes in the climate and anthropogenic load considerably reduce the reliability of relationships developed in the XX century and used to forecast the spring inflow into the Tsymlyansk Reservoir.

Long-Term Changes in Moisture Circulation Processes by Data of Water Balance Stations in the Central Don Basin

The materials of long-term observations at water balance stations in the Don basin confirm the existence of climate changes, which have led to changes in water runoff formation and other water balance elements. It is shown that the major changes in the hydrological regime of water bodies have been induced by the weakening of the effect of cryogenic regulation of water exchange in the basin. This can be seen in two processes: an increase in the infiltration of atmospheric precipitation into aeration zone and groundwater and better drainage of groundwater by the hydrographic network. The first process dominates in the initial period, leading to an increase in the share of surface runoff, a rise in groundwater table, i.e., an increase in groundwater inflow into rivers. Later, the contribution of the second process increases, resulting in a decrease in groundwater reserves in the basin and a drop of groundwater table and river runoff in the dry season. The budget of the processes of replenishment and drawdown of groundwater recovers after the cessation of the formation of cryogenic phenomena in the river basin caused by phase transitions in water–ice (snow)–water system. It is very likely that the transformation of these processes is now coming to an end.

Regularities in the Formation of Surface Flow of Snowmelt Water from Plowed Lands of Different Types in the Forest-Steppe and Steppe Parts of the Don and Volga Basins

Long-term experimental data collected by the authors were analyzed to characterize the formation of spring surface flow in different natural zones of the Volga and Don basins with the use of water-balance method (hydrologic experimental plots) for its treatment, and literary data on such studies were generalized. The obtained unique material was used to characterize the surface runoff separately from loose and compacted plowed lands and to evaluate the runoff-regulating role of the fall tillage of soil. The analysis of theoretical curves of runoff exceedance probability showed that its mean values and the different exceedance probability decrease from N toward S and SE, and the difference between the loose and compacted plowed lands increases. However, in some years, runoff inversion can be seen, i.e., its volume in the forest-steppe zone is less than in the steppe zone, where it can be high. This suggests that the effect on runoff formation produced by anthropogenic factors is less than that of natural factors, forming under different climate conditions, varying over zones and years.

Assessing the Maximum Possible Water Discharge of the Zeya River on the Zeya HPP Site

The problem of estimating the probable maximum values of the inflow to the Zeya reservoir on the basis of determining maximum probable precipitation and results from simulating the flood runoff formation is considered. The maximum probable daily precipitation amounts were determined by the hydrometeorological method using the data of eight-term station-based meteorological observations of dew point temperature and precipitation amounts. Maximum daily precipitation values were converted to those for the travel time of the flood wave via the channel system (seven days for the Zeya basin) using the transition coefficient obtained by a statistical processing of precipitation amounts of different durations. To calculate the possible maximum flood, a rain graph with 1-day sampling intervals was constructed according to the type of change in precipitation intensity during the maximum flood observed in 2013. Precipitation was recalculated to the runoff in terms of the deterministic model developed by the Hydrologic Engineering Center (USA) with due regard for the formation characteristic of heavy floods in the settings of permafrost. The calculated limiting value of the inflow was refined using the Bayesian method of constructing a probability curve taking into account the upper limit of the distribution and the specified determination error of the desired characteristic. The values obtained for the maximum flow of the Zeya are compared with its estimates available to date.

Runoff formation in a catchment with Peat bog and Podzol hillslopes

Hydrological behavior of an ombrogenous raised peat bog has been observed and described in many studies; however, not in complexity with other soils. This research deals with the hydrological function of peat bog in a catchment where peat bog (formed by Histosol or other hydromorphic soils) covers only a part of the area (40–60%). Two soil types, creating two main hillslopes of the experimental catchment in this study, form the dominant soil types (Podzol and Histosol) in the Šumava Mountains, Czechia. A modified HBV model was used to estimate the contribution of each soil type to common outflow and for the estimation of the water balance. According to previous research and field observations, dominant hydrological processes were described for each hillslope (soil). The HBV model was used for the quantification of a ratio between fast and slow flow at Peat bog hillslope and Podzol hillslope. At Peat bog hillslope, the majority of outflow (67%) was formed from the upper soil layer (Acrotelm). In the mineral soil hillslope, a larger portion of runoff was generated from the lower soil layers or bedrock interface (61%). Peat bog contributes to a stream mainly during rainfall events; however, the model showed also significant deep percolation at the Peat bog hillslope and considerable contribution to baseflow during a year. Generally, more precipitation water was turned by the model into runoff at the Peat bog hillslope, which was also exhibited by a lower rate of actual evapotranspiration (21% of precipitation), compared to 29% in the case of Podzol hillslope. If we consider land-use changes in this locality in terms of expanding or reducing peat areas (draining, drains damming, droughts, etc.), this model could sufficiently estimate the hydrological behavior of local streams and thus can be potentially used in hydrological planning by local authorities.

Influence of Landscape Diversity on Temporal Variability of Ecosystem Functioning in the South of Western Siberia

Abstract Biodiversity increases the stability of ecosystem functioning. This is the most frequent pattern in the field of ecosystem functioning, which has been evaluated generally at the community scale. However, most management decisions are made at the landscape scale, which requires the need to confirm these relationships at this level. In the study, we analyzed the relationship between temporal variability of ecosystem functioning and two landscape diversity indices (Shannon and Pielou). We used snow water equivalent and soil moisture content as the indicators of functioning, which are closely related to the runoff formation function. The field data were collected in a small plain basin of the Kasmala river during the period from 2011 to 2017. Within four spatial scales, we have not identified significant linear relationships between the indicators of functioning and diversity indices. These results indicated the strong influence on the total variability by variation in the most widespread ecosystem types (also called idiosyncratic response). It is one of the consequences of landscape structure homogenization within the study area.