How human interference changes the drainage network operating during heavy rainfalls in a medium-high relief flysch mountain catchment? The case study of the Bystrzanka catchment (Outer Carpathians, Poland)

Surface Drainage Systems Operating during Heavy Rainfall—A Comparative Analysis between Two Small Flysch Catchments Located in Different Physiographic Regions of the Western Carpathians (Poland)

“…The literature review indicates that the natural-origin drainage system usually brings the attention of the scientist. The works focus on the characterization of the surface drainage system and its functioning [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]24,27,28,[38][39][40]. However, the SDS changes during different hydro-meteorological events, especially during extreme events.…”

“…The D8 algorithm was selected for a flow accumulation procedure. The streams were identified using the head channel areas [27,28] (Table 1), which were calculated for models of catchments contributing to the development of 1storder streams. The reconstructed SDS has been characterized quantitatively by several measures.…”

“…The changes result from the incorporation of the river system, including (1) natural-origin elements (such as smaller lateral valleys or incisions conditioned by micro-relief) and (2) man-origin incisions (e.g., paved and unpaved roads, ditches and plough furrows). The density of the man-origin elements exceeds the density of the natural-origin valley system at least two times [26][27][28][29][30] and some of them (roads) are preserved in the environment for centuries [29]. During extreme hydro-meteorological events such as heavy rainfalls, when the most preferable conditions for the overland flow formation occur [1], the natural-and man-origin incisions operate as one 'real' SDS.…”

“…So far, knowledge about the parameters of these systems is limited, mainly due to the difficulties in the reconstruction of the 'real' SDS, which had been made in the post-event investigation and covered small areas [17,18,21,22]. The ALS-LIDAR data released in recent years gave a new opportunity in the 'real' SDS reconstruction and characterization [27,28].…”

Spatial Variations and Influencing Factors of River Networks in River Basins of China

“…Kopp et al assessed the spatial pattern of river networks using basin area, network length and drainage density [17]. The characteristics of river networks can be influenced by human and natural activities [18,19]. For example, Collins et al analyzed the river network characteristics in the Colorado and found that increased rainfall under dry climatic conditions led to increase in vegetation, which suppressed sediment transport and decreased drainage density [20].…”