Selected publications

The authors integrated hydrometric and isotope data to understand how droughts affect ecohydrological partitioning, hydrological connectivity and streamflow generation at the catchment scale. Groundwater recharge was lower under forest than grassland and enhanced in restored wetlands. Complex patterns of connectivity affect in-stream solute transport and interactions between land- and riverscapes.

The authors used the IGB model EcH2O-iso with isotope tracers to quantify how different vegetation communities in lowland German catchments partition rainfall into evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge. This showed that forests account for greater water losses to the atmosphere and reduced recharge. Future losses under climate change can be optimised by species selection and management. 

The authors investigated the co-evolution of plant xylem water and soil water stable isotopic compositions in a northern mixed forest, Canada. They showed that differences in timing and intensity of water use between deciduous and coniferous trees may account for inter-specific variations in xylem water isotopic composition providing insight into how they may respond to hydroclimatic change.

With a physically based model that couples flow and heat transport in hyporheic zones, the study provides insights into hyporheic responses to daily groundwater withdrawal and river temperature fluctuations. These interactions have impacts on temporal variability of hyporheic exchange, mean residence times and denitrification potential. Improved pumping schemes can restore ecosystem functions.

The authors used a coupled lake-atmosphere model to investigate the effect of the largest lake of China, the Qinghai, on the weather and climate conditions of the Tibetan Plateau. They found that the lake alters wind conditions and increases precipitation over the arid areas of the earth’s “third pole” Tibet but the effect is irregularly distributed spatially and temporally over the seasons.  

The authors investigated the effects of recent years’ droughts on ecohydrological processes in an agricultural catchment using an isotope-aided model (EcH2O-iso). Stream discharge could be sustained by deep, old groundwater, while transpiration fluxes were heavily reduced by drought stress. Crucially, tracer-based water age estimates can be used as potential indicators of drought impacts.

67 scientists reviewed 1700 peer-reviewed articles on soil-erosion modelling. The study addresses the relevance of regions, models, and model validation and includes the open-source database. 

Wastewater still contains high amounts of trace organic compounds and organic matter after the wastewater treatment plant. These compounds are usually discharged to rivers with the treated water. The study shows that in the hyporheic zone of the river, i.e. the river sediment, degradation of trace organic compounds takes place simultaneously with a change in the composition of organic matter.