Sources and sinks of nutrients in a New Zealand hill pasture catchment I. Stormflow generation

✍ Scribed by James G. Cooke; Tony Dons

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 866 KB
• Volume: 2
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6087
• DOI: 10.1002/hyp.3360020202

✦ Synopsis

The processes of stormflow generation were studied in a hill pasture catchment near Hamilton, New Zealand. Although rainfall was relatively evenly distributed throughout the year, stormflow was highly seasonal and over 65 per cent occurred during the winter. Three main processes contributing to stormflow were identified which could be related to soil type and physiographic position. On gleyed soils derived from rhyolitic colluvium, saturation overland flow was the dominant process. Hydrographs from 'Whipkey' throughflow troughs also indicated that there was a subsurface response (saturated wedge) from this soil type. On steeper convex slopes, more permeable soils were derived from weathered greywacke. The presence of ephemeral springs on the hillslopes and direct observation during storm events indicated that storm runoff was generated as return flow from this soil.

It was noted that nitrate concentrations from subsurface sources were 5-10 times higher than surface runoff. This difference in concentration was utilized in a chemical mixing equation which partitioned stormflow sources. This was compared with the stormflow predicted from rain falling on to saturated areas. There was good agreement between the two models for winter-spring events with respect to the volumes of surface runoff predicted, however the saturated areas model underestimated total stormflow.

The results of the study are briefly discussed in terms of the potential for water quality management.