Hydrology: Catchment vegetation and runoff

Abstract

The interactions between catchment vegetation and runoff continue to be a staple area of hydrological research. Drawing mainly upon material published since 2002, this report briefly reviews progress in this area with specific reference to: (1) paired and single catchment studies; (2) top-down models; and (3) the likely impact of climate change. Results from a wider range of paired and single catchments studies are revealing the complex relationship between catchment vegetation and runoff and prompting a reassessment of the methodologies used to generalize this relationship. Vegetation appears to have a significant influence on runoff at small scales, which reduces to a second-order influenc..