Hydrology (A review of experimental and representative basin studies)

1. VERIFICATION, EXTENSION AND PROLIFERATION

1.1. Coweeta

1.1.1. The Coweeta catchments in North Carolina have been called the oldest continuously operating catchment study in the world (Swank & Crossley, 1988)

1.2. East Africa

1.2.1. In 1957 and 1958 four paired catchment studies were established. Three were concerned with the replacement of natural forest vegetation in high rainfall areas and the fourth with restoration methods for semi arid degraded grass savanna

1.3. International Hydrological Decade

1.3.1. Figure 1 shows the distribution of over 600 representative and experimental basins by latitude at the start of the IHD. By the end of the IHD there were over 3000 of such basins worldwide.

2. THE INCORPORATION OF PROCESS STUDIES

2.1. Hubbard Brook

2.2. Plynlimon

2.3. Hupselse Beck

3. CATCHMENT NETWORKS

3.1. A developing trend since the 1970s has been the combination of data from a number of catchments having different characteristics (slopes, soils etc.) to study the effect of these differences.

4. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES

4.1. The simplest form of basin study is of a single basin; often one that has been selected as being typical or representative of a region, in terms of its attributes such as vegetation type, geology and slope.

5. PIONEER BASIN STUDIES

5.1. Investigations into the importance of catchment characteristics, and in particular land use, upon river flows began at the end of the last century.

5.2. Results indicated that flood flows and annual yields were lower from the forested catchment; baseflows were higher.

6. CONCLUSIONS

6.1. The simplest form of basin study is of a single basin; often one that has been selected as being typical or representative of a region, in terms of its attributes such as vegetation type, geology and slope.

6.2. There is now considerably more emphasis on the aspects of environmental change as it is recognised that catchment studies offer the means to monitor and detect change.