Quantification of Soil Moisture Effects on Runoff Formation at the Hillslope Scale
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 9
Abstract
Pre-rain-event soil moisture (preSM) plays a crucial role when evaluating runoff formation during heavy rainfall. Using sprinkling experiments and numerical modeling, this study investigates the impact of preSM on runoff formation at the small hillslope scale (). Sprinkling experiments were conducted on three sites in the Austrian Alps and observed hydrological behavior was simulated by using the hillslope model HILLFLOW. For each site, runoff was modeled with different preSM scenarios, covering the whole soil moisture range between permanent wilting point and saturation. Depending on the dominant runoff processes, the results showed impacts of preSM on both the maximum runoff and the total runoff. A predominant threshold was observed near field capacity (35 and 32% by volume). In general, the results clearly showed that the consideration of preSM is a prerequisite to reproduce runoff formation and total runoff amounts accurately. Field capacity turned out to be a good indicator (threshold) for surface runoff estimates.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Gertraud Meißl (Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck) for giving support with scientific expertise, Axel Bronstert for allocating the model HILLFLOW, and Stephan Jacobi for giving instruction (both Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam). Climate data were supplied by the Department of the Tyrolean Regional Government—Hydrographic Service of Tyrol. The research was sponsored by the Tyrolean Science Fund (TWF).
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Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 9 • September 2015
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 25, 2014
Accepted: Dec 29, 2014
Published online: Feb 10, 2015
Discussion open until: Jul 10, 2015
Published in print: Sep 1, 2015
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