Spatial variability of hillslope water balance, wolf creek basin, subarctic yukon

Abstract A hydrological study was conducted between 1997 and 1999 in the subalpine open woodland of the Wolf Creek Basin, Yukon, to assess the interslope water balance variability. The water balance during the snowmelt and summer periods on four hillslopes revealed strong contrasts in process magnitudes and highlighted important factors including frost, vegetation, soils and microclimate that controlled vertical and lateral fluxes of water. Snow accounted for approximately half the annual water input, while differences in accumulation among hillslopes were related to interception properties of vegetation. Available energy at the snow surface controlled the melt sequence and the snow on some slopes disappeared up to two months earlier than others. Snowmelt runoff was confined to slopes with ice‐rich substrates that inhibited deep percolation, with the runoff magnitude governed by the snow storage and the antecedent moisture of the desiccated organic soils prior to melt. During summer, evapotranspiration exceeded rainfall, largely sustained by water from the soil moisture reservoir recharged during the melt period. Differences in net radiation on slopes controlled the potential evapotranspiration, with the actual rates limited by the phenology of the deciduous forests and shrubs. Evapotranspiration was further suppressed on slopes where the organic soils became dry in late summer. Summer runoff was confined to slopes with porous organic layers overlying mineral soils to form a two‐layer flow system: (1) quickflow in the surface organic layer and (2) slowflow in the mineral soil. Differences in the rates of flow were related to the position of the water table which may rise into the organic layer to activate quickflow. The presence of ice‐rich frost and permafrost impeded vertical drainage and indirectly regulated the position of the water table. The location of the hillslope within a basin influenced recharge and discharge dynamics. Slope segments with large inflows sustained discharge throughout the summer to enhance basin runoff. In this way, the present study provides insight into basin hydrology. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.