Table 2 Potential impacts of land use changes and relevance for components of hydrological cycle

Interception storage

Greatly affected by vegetation changes (e.g. crop harvest, forest cutting); relevant for evapotranspiration/energy balance

Litter storage

Affected by vegetation changes, in particular forest cutting; relevant for evapotranspiration/energy balance

Root zone storage

Affected by management practices like tilling methods, relevant for evapotranspiration and storm runoff generation

Infiltration - excess overland flow

Affected by crop cultivation and management practices; relevant for storm runoff generation in the case of high rainfall intensities and low soil conductivity; may be enhanced by soil siltation and crusting

Saturation - excess overland flow

Only slightly affected by land use changes (process is controlled by topography and subsurface conditions)

Subsurface stormflow

Only slightly affected by land use changes (process is controlled by topography and subsurface conditions)

Runoff from urbanized areas

Highly affected by sewer system and sewage retention measures; relevant for storm runoff from urban areas

Decentralized retention in the landscape

Affected by landscape structuring and agricultural rationalization of arable land; relevant for storm runoff concentration from arable land