@article{ZimmermannVossMetzgeretal.2016, author = {Zimmermann, Alexander and Voss, Sebastian and Metzger, Johanna Clara and Hildebrandt, Anke and Zimmermann, Beate}, title = {estimating mean throughfall}, series = {Journal of hydrology}, volume = {542}, journal = {Journal of hydrology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0022-1694}, doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.09.047}, pages = {781 -- 789}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The selection of an appropriate spatial extent of a sampling plot is one among several important decisions involved in planning a throughfall sampling scheme. In fact, the choice of the extent may determine whether or not a study can adequately characterize the hydrological fluxes of the studied ecosystem. Previous attempts to optimize throughfall sampling schemes focused on the selection of an appropriate sample size, support, and sampling design, while comparatively little attention has been given to the role of the extent. In this contribution, we investigated the influence of the extent on the representativeness of mean throughfall estimates for three forest ecosystems of varying stand structure. Our study is based on virtual sampling of simulated throughfall fields. We derived these fields from throughfall data sampled in a simply structured forest (young tropical forest) and two heterogeneous forests (old tropical forest, unmanaged mixed European beech forest). We then sampled the simulated throughfall fields with three common extents and various sample sizes for a range of events and for accumulated data. Our findings suggest that the size of the study area should be carefully adapted to the complexity of the system under study and to the required temporal resolution of the throughfall data (i.e. event-based versus accumulated). Generally, event-based sampling in complex structured forests (conditions that favor comparatively long autocorrelations in throughfall) requires the largest extents. For event-based sampling, the choice of an appropriate extent can be as important as using an adequate sample size. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{AichZimmermannElsenbeer2014, author = {Aich, Valentin and Zimmermann, Alexander and Elsenbeer, Helmut}, title = {Quantification and interpretation of suspended-sediment discharge hysteresis patterns: How much data do we need?}, series = {Catena : an interdisciplinary journal of soil science, hydrology, geomorphology focusing on geoecology and landscape evolution}, volume = {122}, journal = {Catena : an interdisciplinary journal of soil science, hydrology, geomorphology focusing on geoecology and landscape evolution}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0341-8162}, doi = {10.1016/j.catena.2014.06.020}, pages = {120 -- 129}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Sediment-discharge hysteresis loops are frequently analyzed to facilitate the understanding of sediment transport processes. Hysteresis patterns, however, are often complex and their interpretation can be complicated. Particularly, quantifying hysteresis patterns remains a problematic issue. Moreover, it is currently unknown how much data is required for analyzing sediment-discharge hysteresis loops in a given area. These open questions and challenges motivated us to develop a new method for quantifying suspended-sediment hysteresis. Subsequently, we applied the new hysteresis index to three suspended-sediment and discharge datasets from a small tropical rainforest catchment. The datasets comprised a different number of events and sampling sites. Our analyses show three main findings: (1) datasets restricted to only few events, which is typical for rapid assessment surveys, were always sufficient to identify the dominating hysteresis pattern in our research area. Furthermore, some of these small datasets contained multiple-peak events that allowed identifying intra-event exhaustion effects and hence, limitations in sediment supply. (2) Datasets comprising complete hydrological years were particularly useful for analyzing seasonal dynamics of hysteresis. These analyses revealed an exhaustion of hysteresis on the inter-event scale which also points to a limited sediment supply. (3) Datasets comprising measurements from two consecutive gauges installed at the catchment outlet and on a slope within that catchment allowed analyzing the change of hysteresis patterns along the flowpath. On the slope, multiple-peak events showed a stronger intra-event exhaustion of hysteresis than at the catchment outlet. Furthermore, exhaustion of hysteresis on the inter-event scale was not evident on the slope but occurred at the catchment outlet. Our results indicate that even small sediment datasets can provide valuable insights into sediment transport processes of small catchments. Furthermore, our results may serve as a first guideline on what to expect from an analysis of hysteresis patterns for datasets of varying quality and quantity. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} }