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The hydrology of a drained, afforested peat bog in southern Scotland, 1977–1986

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

D. C. Ledger  and
S. E. Harper
D. C. Ledger
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Darwin Building, The King's Buildings, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JU, Scotland, U.K.
S. E. Harper
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Darwin Building, The King's Buildings, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JU, Scotland, U.K.
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Abstract

This paper reports on the progress to date of a long-term investigation of the effects of drainage and afforestation on the hydrology of a peat bog near Edinburgh based on the use of runoff plots and other related equipment. The hydrology of the area immediately after ploughing is described and recently collected data are presented to show how this has changed over a six-year period. The main changes appear to be a substantial reduction in water yield and a move towards a less flashy runoff regime. Data are presented to show that these are most probably due to an increase in the amount of rainfall intercepted by the vegetation now covering the area and to a deterioration in the hydraulic efficiency of the drainage network.

Keywords

afforestationdrainage
Type
Surface and subsurface hydrology
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 78 , Issue 4: Hydrology in Scotland , 1987 , pp. 297 - 303
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1987

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