Keywords Surface runoff · Infiltration · Evapotranspiration · Watershed · Disturbed
catchment · Stream discharge
Introduction
Forests affect the hydrology of watersheds in various and complex ways, such as
increasing evapotranspiration, increasing infiltration, intercepting cloud moisture,
and reducing the nutrient load of runoff. Runoff originating from a mixed forest
produces high concentrations of ionic elements, organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphoric acids (Klimaszyk et al. 2015). Study on qualitative and qualitative analysis of
runoff variation and its influencing factors has greater dominance on the ecological
protection of a river basin (Shang et al. 2019). Degradation of the forest cover causes
alternation of the hydraulic balance of the forest ecosystem. Such uncontrolled
change in land use and land cover such as deforestation affects watershed hydrology
in most of the tropical watersheds of developing countries across the world (Ewane
and Lee 2020). Watershed deforestation induced surface runoff, interflow, base flow,
and total runoff in a Bodrog basin of Northeastern Slovakia, which clearly visualizes
an adverse effect of anthropogenic disturbance on natural ecology. Different parts of
the trees such as the root system, stem, trunk, and leaves lead to the absorption of
moisture from soil, ground, and soil surface cover, and converts it into biowater that
ultimately helps develop a sound precipitation mechanism (Yu Yannian 1990). Tree
canopy morphology is important in the determination of rainfall interception and
hence ecological restoration accordingly (Yang et al. 2019). Various modeling
techniques can be applied to estimate the water loss through forest degradation.
Guzha et al. (2018) applied the Mann–Kendal test and Sen slope estimator to analyze
the variation of peak discharge, mean annual discharge, and low flows in river basins
of the East African region to observe the impact of land use and land cover change on
these parameters.
Sometimes scientific clearing of forest and regrowth with herbicides increases the
water yield of a basin and improves water quality (Hornbeck et al. 1993). Forest
types also control the water yield of the basin. The capacity of forest hydrology in
increasing the carbon capture and water storage under climate change depends on the
interaction between hydrological processes and forest dynamics (Frene et al. 2019).
Vildan and Michael (1996) applied fuzzy linear regression and estimated that water
yield from coniferous type forests is higher than the eucalyptus type. Forest fire
through natural and anthropogenic activities induces increased soil erosion rates,
causes alteration of runoff generation, and provokes pollutant sources, which
increase fluxes of sediment, nutrients, and water quality ingredients that contaminate
water supplies (Smith et al. 2011). Forestation transformation and the horizontal
migration of soil nutrients can exaggerate soil erosion activities, with more runoff
and poor water recharge (Zhu et al. 2019). Dying of trees in a forest can also lead to
the loss of canopy and changes in water and nutrient uptake, which further leads to
observable changes in hydrology and the biogeochemical cycle of the ecosystem
208
M. B. Roy et al.
catchment · Stream discharge
Introduction
Forests affect the hydrology of watersheds in various and complex ways, such as
increasing evapotranspiration, increasing infiltration, intercepting cloud moisture,
and reducing the nutrient load of runoff. Runoff originating from a mixed forest
produces high concentrations of ionic elements, organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphoric acids (Klimaszyk et al. 2015). Study on qualitative and qualitative analysis of
runoff variation and its influencing factors has greater dominance on the ecological
protection of a river basin (Shang et al. 2019). Degradation of the forest cover causes
alternation of the hydraulic balance of the forest ecosystem. Such uncontrolled
change in land use and land cover such as deforestation affects watershed hydrology
in most of the tropical watersheds of developing countries across the world (Ewane
and Lee 2020). Watershed deforestation induced surface runoff, interflow, base flow,
and total runoff in a Bodrog basin of Northeastern Slovakia, which clearly visualizes
an adverse effect of anthropogenic disturbance on natural ecology. Different parts of
the trees such as the root system, stem, trunk, and leaves lead to the absorption of
moisture from soil, ground, and soil surface cover, and converts it into biowater that
ultimately helps develop a sound precipitation mechanism (Yu Yannian 1990). Tree
canopy morphology is important in the determination of rainfall interception and
hence ecological restoration accordingly (Yang et al. 2019). Various modeling
techniques can be applied to estimate the water loss through forest degradation.
Guzha et al. (2018) applied the Mann–Kendal test and Sen slope estimator to analyze
the variation of peak discharge, mean annual discharge, and low flows in river basins
of the East African region to observe the impact of land use and land cover change on
these parameters.
Sometimes scientific clearing of forest and regrowth with herbicides increases the
water yield of a basin and improves water quality (Hornbeck et al. 1993). Forest
types also control the water yield of the basin. The capacity of forest hydrology in
increasing the carbon capture and water storage under climate change depends on the
interaction between hydrological processes and forest dynamics (Frene et al. 2019).
Vildan and Michael (1996) applied fuzzy linear regression and estimated that water
yield from coniferous type forests is higher than the eucalyptus type. Forest fire
through natural and anthropogenic activities induces increased soil erosion rates,
causes alteration of runoff generation, and provokes pollutant sources, which
increase fluxes of sediment, nutrients, and water quality ingredients that contaminate
water supplies (Smith et al. 2011). Forestation transformation and the horizontal
migration of soil nutrients can exaggerate soil erosion activities, with more runoff
and poor water recharge (Zhu et al. 2019). Dying of trees in a forest can also lead to
the loss of canopy and changes in water and nutrient uptake, which further leads to
observable changes in hydrology and the biogeochemical cycle of the ecosystem
208
M. B. Roy et al.