Vegetation as a driver of shifts in rainfall-runoff relationship: Synthesising hydrological evidence with remote sensing

Abstract

Drought-induced hydrological shifts and subsequent non-recovery have been reported globally, including in Australia. These phenomena involve changes in the rainfall-runoff relationship, so a year of given rainfall gives less streamflow than before. Some authors have indicated that vegetation dynamics played a key role in hydrological shifts during Australia's Millennium Drought (MD, 1997–2009), but such interactions are complex and are yet to be fully examined. This study investigates vegetation responses before, during, and after the MD for the same set of catchments in southeast Australia where hydrological shifts and non-recovery have been reported. The characterisation of vegetation beha..