Fundamental hydrological research results drawn from studies in small catchments

摘要

The history of research in small experimental and representative catchments in the 20th century is briefly described, in particular with regard to water quantity experiments. The early studies up to about the 1960s dealt with impacts of forest cover on runoff volumes and peak flow rates, but did not explain why catchments responded as they did. Stimulated by the IHD of UNESCO, from the 1960s numerous small research catchments have been set up for process studies to enhance the understanding of the hydrological behaviour of catchments. Although initially only precipitation and runoff could be measured, the technological developments in the 1970s opened the road for collecting time series of actual evaporation and soil moisture estimates. Many catchments studies have been conducted on runoff generation using, e.g. isotope information of the various flow components contributing to flood events. These and many other studies in small experimental and representative catchments have contributed much to a better understanding of the hydrological processes and to improved hydrological modelling.