Soil & Water Res., 2008, 3(3):155-167 | DOI: 10.17221/2/2008-SWR

Long-term trends of rainfall and runoff regime in upper Otava River basinOriginal Paper

Zdeněk KLIMENT, Milada MATOUŠKOVÁ
Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

The floods experienced recently in the Czech Republic gave rise to numerous discussions over the changed environment and related potential impacts on the rainfall and runoff processes. The main aim of our research project was to determine long term trends of rainfall and runoff regime in Otava River basin. The rainfall-runoff analyses using both the single and double mass curves over the period of the hydrologic observations were taken as a basic method. Beside mean discharge, precipitation, snow and air temperature trends, analysis of land cover change and human impact on the river network and drainage areas development were applied too. The greatest deviations were widely observed in the period between the 2nd half of the seventies and in the 1st half of the eighties. It has been related to the one of repeatedly coming rather humid episodes and correspond to major human influences on the river network. The whole system came slowly back to its initial condition in the early nineties. Standard statistical testing methods were applied to confirm the trends. The Wilcoxon single and paired samples test, and furthermore the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test were used. Trend detection using both tests also confirmed a different development of the discharges and precipitation regime in the Ostružná and upper Blanice River basins in the period 1975-1982. The runoff trend deviation has been related to the nature and human factors, mainly to current climatic changes and changes of landscape retention potential.

Keywords: trend analysis; rainfall; runoff; climate change; human impact; the Otava River basin; Czech Republic

Published: September 30, 2008  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
KLIMENT Z, MATOUŠKOVÁ M. Long-term trends of rainfall and runoff regime in upper Otava River basin. Soil & Water Res. 2008;3(3):155-167. doi: 10.17221/2/2008-SWR.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Bičík I. et al. (2003): Development of land use structure in the Otava River Basin. In: Langhammer J. (ed.): Assessment of Environment Changes in Context with Formation and Development of Floods. Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, 113-121. (in Czech)
    2. Blažková Š., Kolářová S. (1994): Impact of Deferestration on Hydrological Regime in Jizerske hory Mt. T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Praha. (in Czech)
    3. Burn D.H., Cunderlik J.M., Pietroniro A. (2004): Hydrological trends and variability in the Liard River basin. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 49: 53-68. Go to original source...
    4. Dennis R.H., Lonna M.F. (2006): Regional Kendall test for trend. Environmental Science & Technology, 40: 13. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. Doležal F. et al. (2004): Balance Assessment of a Role of Drainage Systems During Floods. Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague. (in Czech)
    6. Föhrer N. et al. (2001): Hydrological response to land use changes on the catchment scale. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 26: 577-582. Go to original source...
    7. Goudie A. (1992): The Human Impact on the Natural Environment. Blackwell Publisher, Oxford.
    8. Hais M. (2004): Influence of drainage on landscape functioning in Šumava National Park. In.: Hermann A. (ed.): Int. Conf. Hydrology of Mountains Environments. Berchtesgaden.
    9. Jařabáč M. Chlebek A. (1984): Impact of forest areas and forest management on outflow and soil erosion in Beskydy Mt. Vodní hospodářství, 4: 109-116. (in Czech)
    10. Kaňok J. (1999): Antropogenic impact on discharge levels in the Odra River Basin - profile Kozle. Spisy prací Přirodovědecké fakulty Ostravské Univerzity 10, Ostrava. (in Czech)
    11. Kavan J. (2004): Changes of outflow in the Ostružná River Basin. [BSc. Thesis.] Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague. (in Czech)
    12. Kendall M.G. (1975): Rank Correlation Methods. Charles Griffin, London.
    13. Kliment Z., Matoušková M. (2005): Trends of outflow development in the Otava River Basin. Geografie - Sborník ČGS, 112: 32-45. (in Czech) Go to original source...
    14. Klöcking B., Haberlandt U. (2002): Impact of landuse changes on water dynamics - a case study in temperate meso and macroscale river basin. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 27: 619-629. Go to original source...
    15. Kříž V. (1981): Forecast of potential changes of hydrological regime of Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mt. Geografie - Sborník ČSGS, 86: 19-27. (in Czech) Go to original source...
    16. Kříž V. (2003): Changes and curiosity of water regime in the Ostravice River Basin. Geografie - Sborník ČGS, 108: 36-48. (in Czech) Go to original source...
    17. Kulhavý Z. (1999): Assessment of agricultural management impact on the outflow using mathematic modelling in small river basins. Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation [Report ZZP EP 7062.] Prague. (in Czech)
    18. Kundzewicz Z., Robson A. (2004): Change detection in hydrological records - a review of the methodology. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 49: 7-20. Go to original source...
    19. Langhammer J. et al. (2003): Assessment of environment changes in context with formation and development of floods. [Report GACR 205/03/Z046.] Charles University in Prague.
    20. Lindström G., Bergström U. (2004): Runoff trends in Sweden 1807-2002. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 49: 69-82. Go to original source...
    21. Mann H.B. (1945): Nonparametric tests against trend. Econometrica, 13: 245-259. Go to original source...
    22. Meyer W.B. (2001): Human Impact on the Earth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
    23. Radziejewski M., Kundzewicz Z. (2004): Detectability of changes in hydrological records. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 49: 39-51. Go to original source...
    24. Robinson M. et al. (2003): Studies of the impact of forest on peak flows and baseflows: a European perspective. Forest Ecology and Management, 186: 85-97. Go to original source...
    25. Sochorec R. (1997): Influence of surface water withdrawal and drainage on hydrological characteristics in the Odra River and the upper Morava River basins. Vodní hospodářství, 47: 291-292. (in Czech)
    26. Švihla V. et al. (1992): Study Object Ovesná Lhota. Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague. (in Czech)
    27. Válek Z. (1953): Study of a forest impact on outflow in Kychové and Zděkovka River Basins. Vodní hospodářství, 10: 111-112. (in Czech)
    28. Vesecký K. et al. (1961): Climate of the Czechoslovak Socialistic Republic. Tables. Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Prague. (in Czech)
    29. Xiong L., Guo U. (2004): Trends test and change-point detection for the annual discharge series of the Yangtze River at the Xichang hydrological station. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 49: 99-111. Go to original source...
    30. Yue S., Pilon P. (2004): A comparison of the power of the t test, Mann-Kendall and bootstrap tests for trend detection. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 49: 21-37. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content