Tropical storms and the flood hydrology of the central Appalachians

Sturdevant-Rees, Paula; Smith, James A.; Morrison, Julia E.; Baeck, Mary Lynn

doi:10.1029/2000wr900310

Cited by 77 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Additionally, the storms producing these floods have some of the largest 6 h rainfall amounts in the world (Crippen and Bue, 1977;Hicks et al, 2005). Notable floods are usually the result of large tropical systems, unusual thunderstorms, or rains coupled with spring snowmelt in the north (Neary et al, 1986;Neary and Swift, 1987;Sturdevant-Rees et al, 2001;Graybeal and Leathers, 2006), and therefore there is not necessarily a dominant flood season in some parts of the Appalachians (Lecce, 2000). Floods become a concern for rainfalls >50 mm day À1 , but risk is not necessarily directly related to rainfall amount (Miller, 1990).…”

Section: Stream Channel Morphologymentioning

confidence: 98%

Forest operations, extreme flooding events, and considerations for hydrologic modeling in the Appalachians—A review

Eisenbies

Aust

Burger

et al. 2007

Forest Ecology and Management

116

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Section: Stream Channel Morphologymentioning

confidence: 98%

Forest operations, extreme flooding events, and considerations for hydrologic modeling in the Appalachians—A review

Eisenbies

Aust

Burger

et al. 2007

Forest Ecology and Management

116

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“…Additionally, the intensification of precipitation changes combined with orographic effects may increase risk or severity of erosion in mountainous areas (Beniston 2003, Sturdevant-Rees et al 2001). …”

Section: Soil Erosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Central Appalachians forest ecosystem vulnerability assessment and synthesis: a report from the Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework project

Butler¹,

Iverson²,

Thompson³

et al. 2015

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Forest ecosystems across the Central Appalachians will be affected directly and indirectly by a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of nine forest ecosystems in the Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest-Coniferous Forest-Meadow and Eastern Broadleaf Forest Provinces of Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland for a range of future climates. We synthesized and summarized information on the contemporary landscape, provided information on past climate trends, and described a range of projected future climates. This information was used to parameterize and run multiple vegetation impact models, which provided a range of potential tree responses to climate. Finally, we brought these results before a multidisciplinary panel of scientists, land managers, and academics familiar with the forests of this region to assess ecosystem vulnerability through a formal consensus-based expert elicitation process.The summary of the contemporary landscape identifies major forest trends and stressors currently threatening forests in the region. Observed trends in climate over the past century reveal that average minimum temperatures have increased in the area, particularly in summer and fall. Precipitation has also increased in the area, particularly in fall. Projected climate trends for the next 100 years using downscaled global climate model data indicate a potential increase in mean annual temperature of 2 to 8 °F for the assessment area. Projections for precipitation indicate increases in winter and spring precipitation, and summer and fall precipitation projections vary by scenario. We identified potential impacts on forests by incorporating these future climate projections into three forest impact models (DISTRIB, LINKAGES, and LANDIS PRO). Model projections suggest that many mesic species, including American beech, eastern hemlock, eastern white pine, red spruce, and sugar maple may fare worse under future conditions, but other species such as eastern redcedar may benefit from projected changes in climate. Published literature on climate impacts related to wildfire, invasive species, and forest pests and diseases also contributed to the overall determination of climate change vulnerability.We assessed vulnerability for nine forest ecosystems in the assessment area. The assessment was conducted through a formal elicitation process of 19 science and management experts from across the area, who considered vulnerability in terms of the potential impacts on a forest ecosystem and the adaptive capacity of the ecosystem. Appalachian (hemlock)/northern hardwood forests, large stream floodplain and riparian forests, small stream riparian forests, and spruce/fir forests were determined to be the most vulnerable ecosystems. Dry/mesic oak forests and dry oak and oak/pine forests and woodlands were perceived as less vulnerable to projected changes in climate. These projected changes in climate and the associated impacts and vulnerabilities will have important implications for economically valuable ti...

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“…Other studies, examining watersheds up to 250 km 2 , have also found differences in the magnitude and duration of small floods between watershed types (Smith et al, 2002a;Hawley and Bledsoe, 2011). Sturdevant-Rees et al (2001) found no evidence of forested watersheds reducing peak runoff volumes for the 100-year flood in watersheds ranging from 200 to 7800 km 2 . These studies suggest that regardless of watershed size, small floods respond differently to land cover than larger floods.…”

Section: Which Inland Floods Can Be Managed?mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Urbanization affects the magnitude and duration of flows up to the 5-year flood in semi-arid environments. Hawley andBledsoe (2011) andSturdevant-Rees et al (2001) found no evidence of forested watersheds reducing peak runoff volumes for the 100-year flood. Similarly, artificial water bodies affect flooding only up to the point where runoff equals their storage capacity (Sordo-Ward et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

An empirical assessment of which inland floods can be managed

Mogollón

Frimpong

Hoegh

et al. 2016

Journal of Environmental Management

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Riverine flooding is a significant global issue. Although it is well documented that the influence of landscape structure on floods decreases as flood size increases, studies that define a threshold flood-return period, above which landscape features such as topography, land cover and impoundments can curtail floods, are lacking. Further, the relative influences of natural versus built features on floods is poorly understood. Assumptions about the types of floods that can be managed have considerable implications for the cost-effectiveness of decisions to invest in transforming land cover (e.g., reforestation) and in constructing structures (e.g., storm-water ponds) to control floods. This study defines parameters of floods for which changes in landscape structure can have an impact. We compare nine flood-return periods across 31 watersheds with widely varying topography and land cover in the southeastern United States, using long-term hydrologic records (≥20 years). We also assess the effects of built flow-regulating features (best management practices and artificial water bodies) on selected flood metrics across urban watersheds. We show that landscape features affect magnitude and duration of only those floods with return periods ≤10 years, which suggests that larger floods cannot be managed effectively by manipulating landscape structure. Overall, urban watersheds exhibited larger (270 m(3)/s) but quicker (0.41 days) floods than non-urban watersheds (50 m(3)/s and 1.5 days). However, urban watersheds with more flow-regulating features had lower flood magnitudes (154 m(3)/s), but similar flood durations (0.55 days), compared to urban watersheds with fewer flow-regulating features (360 m(3)/s and 0.23 days). Our analysis provides insight into the magnitude, duration and count of floods that can be curtailed by landscape structure and its management. Our findings are relevant to other areas with similar climate, topography, and land use, and can help ensure that investments in flood management are made wisely after considering the limitations of landscape features to regulate floods.

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Tropical storms and the flood hydrology of the central Appalachians

Cited by 77 publications

References 34 publications

Forest operations, extreme flooding events, and considerations for hydrologic modeling in the Appalachians—A review

Forest operations, extreme flooding events, and considerations for hydrologic modeling in the Appalachians—A review

Central Appalachians forest ecosystem vulnerability assessment and synthesis: a report from the Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework project

An empirical assessment of which inland floods can be managed

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