Headwater Streams – What Are They and What Do They Do? Ken Fritz and Brent Johnson

Headwater streams – what are they and what do they do? Ken Fritz and Brent Johnson

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Office of Research and Development National Exposure Research Laboratory, Ecological Exposure Research Division May 24, 2011 Outline of presentation

• What are headwater streams? - Where are they? - CtfhdtComponents of headwater catchments - Longitudinal transitions • Hydrology of headwater streams - Major flowpaths - Expansion – contraction - How to characterize permanence • Headwater stream functions - Struct ure and f uncti on - What are the vitals and how to measure them

1 What are headwater streams?

• Subjective term for a small tributary – depends on context and scale

• Tributaries are permanent longg(itudinal features (bed Bank & banks) where water & Streambed Bank associated materials from surface runoff and/or ground water are concentrated & mixed at the land-atmosphere 2 interface. Stream classification

• Exterior or most upland tributaries in river networks • Typically considered to be 1st & 2nd order streams, but depends on map

stream order link magnitude

11 11 11 11

2 2 2 1 2 1 3 1 1 5 2 1 2 1 3

3 7 Extent of headwater streams

headwaters: 94.9% of streams & 73.2% of total length

Stream number

sed) 1500000 Total l en gth oo Average length 1500 i) total miles (cl miles total

1000000 mm 1000 r (open) and age length ( ee rr

500000 Ave 500 Stream numb

0 0

1 2468103 5 7 9 Order 4 (from Leopold et al. 1964) Headwater streams: a national picture

Headwater Stream Length as a Percentage of Total Stream Length % Headwater Streams 0 1-19 20 -36 37-48 49-57 58-100 State boundary

5 (from Nadeau and Rains 2007) Map scale & headwater streams

1:100K 1:24K C – 1st B – 2nd A – 3rd C # 1st = 5 B A C – 0 st B – 1 C A – 2nd B 1 km 1 km # 1st = 2 A 1:15.8K

cC C – 2nd Bb B – 3rd A th 6 a –4 A 0.8 km # 1st = 41 Extent of headwater streams

National Field surveyyging the position Hydrographic of channel origins & Database (NHD) total stream hydrologic transition zones length : 233 km Estimate extent of headwater streams within surrounding HUC based on field determined Flow Generated Accumulation Coefficients. prediction total stream length: Comparisons to existing 527 km resource databases.

7 NHD coming up short?

Location HUC drainage Total stream length (km) Percent area (km2) NHD Generated additional 124K1:24 K lthlength Robinson Forest, KY 7.5 12 28 +133.3 Wayne N.F., OH 45.4 17 49 +188.2 Dodge Brook,NH, NH 76.3 151 317 +109.9 Edge of Appalachia, OH 77.5 2 28 +1300.0 Hoosier N.F., IN 91.4 39 49 +25.6 Lower Big Sandy, WV 104.3 114 299 +162.3 Shawnee N.F., IL 128. 7 233 527 +125. 9 Silver Creek, WA 131.4 242 511 +111.4 Cheat River, WV 158.4 179 454 +153.6 Huntingg,ton River, VT 172.3 276 508 +84.1 Beaverkill, NY 251.3 255 481 +88.8 Fir Brook, NY 342.8 438 701 +60.0 n = 12 X = +114.4

8 Headwater catchment components

C Transitional channel A – valley head or swale B – gradual channel head C – abrupt channel head

9 (based on Dietrich & Dunne 1993) A longitudinal tour

10 Drainage area: 1.9 ha Slope: 46.3%

D50: 128 mm (cobble-boulder) Steep sideslopes Colluvial/cascade

11 Drainage area: 9.6 ha Slope: 9%

D50: 64 mm (pebble-cobble) Steep sideslopes Cascade/step-pool

12 Drainage area: 18.5 ha Slope: 3.3%

D50: 64 mm (pebble-cobble) Less constrained Riffle-pool

13 Drainage area: 89.4 ha Slope: 2.3%

D50: 64 mm (pebble-cobble) Unconstrained Riffle-pool

14 Precipitation Hydrologic flowpaths

Soils

Overland flow Bedrock Evapotranspiration

Deep groundwater recharge and flow

V Channel Hyporheic exchange Alluvi um

15 Transmission Expansion-contraction

Gray = ground water contributing zone

Perennial Intermittent Ephemeral Seep spring Isolated wetland

Adjacent wetland 16 Expansion-contraction

Hydrograph mapped w/ extent of flowing channel.

Southwestern British Columbia, drainage area : 300 ha (~1 mi2)

17 (from Cheng 1988) Hydrologic Permanence

• Ephemeral, intermittent & perennial • But permanence varies continuously (rather than categorically) in frequency, duration & timing • Interannual variation • Longitudinal gradient, but can be discontinuous over space • Surface and subsurface • Direct and indirect methods to chtiharacterize

18 Electrical resistance data

(168.3 ha)

(46.7 ha)

3 (18.6 ha)

(8. 1 ha)

19 Structural Measures of Stream Condition

Canopy cover

Woody debris

Geomorphology

Pools Riparian vegetation

Streambed particle Algal RBPs size biomass Current velocity Riffles

Invertebrate diversity

Salamander abundance Functional Measures of Stream Condition

Leaf decomposition Organic matter input

Organic matter retention

Energy management

Colonization Hydrologic exchange

Benthic metabolism Primary production Nutrient uptake Secondary production Orggpanic matter export Sediment retention What do Appalachian headwater std?treams do? Intimately linked to hillslopes Represent sources to the network

• Supply water • Store, transform and transport organic matter/energy (metabolism & production) • Store and transport sediment • Store, transform & transport nutrients • Buffer water temperature Not necessarilyyy continuously Cumulatively over time & space 22 How to measure the vitals?

23 Acknowledgements

David Walters Allison Roy Karen Blocksom MiPMaggie Passmore Greg Pond Jim Wigington Stephanie Fulton Roger Burke Chris Barton Jeff Jack David Word VT St ream T eam