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Dendrohydrology and water resources management in south-central Chile: lessons from the Río Imperial streamflow reconstruction
Dendrohydrology and water resources management in south-central Chile: lessons from the Río Imperial streamflow reconstruction
Streamflow in south-central Chile (SCC, ∼ 37–42∘ S) is vital for agriculture, forestry production, hydroelectricity, and human consumption. Recent drought episodes have generated hydrological deficits with damaging effects on these activities. This region is projected to undergo major reductions in water availability, concomitant with projected increases in water demand. However, the lack of long-term records hampers the development of accurate estimations of natural variability and trends. In order to provide more information on long-term streamflow variability and trends in SCC, here we report findings of an analysis of instrumental records and a tree-ring reconstruction of the summer streamflow of the Río Imperial (∼ 37∘ 40′ S–38∘ 50′ S). This is the first reconstruction in Chile targeted at this season. Results from the instrumental streamflow record (∼ 1940 onwards) indicated that the hydrological regime is fundamentally pluvial with a small snowmelt contribution during spring, and evidenced a decreasing trend, both for the summer and the full annual record. The reconstruction showed that streamflow below the average characterized the post-1980 period, with more frequent, but not more intense, drought episodes. We additionally found that the recent positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode has significantly influenced streamflow. These findings agree with previous studies, suggesting a robust regional signal and a shift to a new hydrological scenario. In this paper, we also discuss implications of these results for water managers and stakeholders; we provide rationale and examples that support the need for the incorporation of tree-ring reconstructions into water resources management.
- University of Genoa Italy
- University of Pavia Italy
- University of Parma Italy
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad Chile
- Università degli Studi di Pavia Italy
6016
Abram, N. J., Mulvaney, R., Vimeux, F., Phipps, S. J., Turner, J., and England, M. H.: Evolution of the Southern Annular Mode during the past millennium, Nat. Clim. Change, 4, 564-569, 2014. [OpenAIRE]
Aravena, J.-C. and Luckman, B. H.: Spatio-temporal rainfall patterns in Southern South America, Int. J. Climatol., 21, 2106- 2120, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc, 2009. [OpenAIRE]
Ayala-Cabrera y Asociados: Plan Director para la Gestión de los Recursos Hídricos en la Cuenca del Río Imperial, Dirección General de Aguas, Ministerio de Obras Públicas, Chile, 2001.
Barria, P., Peel, M. C., Walsh, K. J. E., and Muñoz, A.: The first 300-year streamflow reconstruction of a highelevation river in Chile using tree rings, Int. J. Climatol., https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5186, 2017.
Bauer, C. J.: Results of Chilean water markets: Empirical research since 1990, Water Resour. Res., 40, 1-11, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003WR002838, 2004.
Bauer, C. J.: Water Conflicts and Entrenched Governance Problems in Chile' s Market Model, Water Alternat., 8, 147-172, http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/ vol8/v8issue2/285-a8-2-8/file (last access; 10 May 2018), 2015.
Biondi, F. and Strachan, S.: Dendrohydrology in 2050: Challenges and Opportunities, in: Toward a Sustainable Water Future, 355-362, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784412077.ch38, 2012.
Blázquez, J. and Solman, S. A.: Interannual variability of the frontal activity in the Southern Hemisphere: relationship with atmospheric circulation and precipitation over southern South America, Clim. Dynam., https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-016-3223-3, 2016.
Boisier, J. P., Rondanelli, R., Garreaud, R. D., and Muñoz, F.: Anthropogenic and natural contributions to the Southeast Pacific precipitation decline and recent megadrought in central Chile, Geophys. Res. Lett., 1-9, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067265, 2016.
CADE-IDEPE: Cuenca del Río Imperial, Tech. rep., Ministerio de Obras Publicas, 2004.
- University of Genoa Italy
- University of Pavia Italy
- University of Parma Italy
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad Chile
- Università degli Studi di Pavia Italy
- National University of Cuyo Argentina
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI GENOVA Italy
- University of Concepción Chile
- University di Padova, Padova, Italy Italy
- Pontificial Catholic University of Valparaiso Chile
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Chile
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA Italy
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PARMA Italy
- Università degli Studi di Pavia Italy
- University of Padua Italy
- University of Regina Canada
- Austral University of Chile Chile
Streamflow in south-central Chile (SCC, ∼ 37–42∘ S) is vital for agriculture, forestry production, hydroelectricity, and human consumption. Recent drought episodes have generated hydrological deficits with damaging effects on these activities. This region is projected to undergo major reductions in water availability, concomitant with projected increases in water demand. However, the lack of long-term records hampers the development of accurate estimations of natural variability and trends. In order to provide more information on long-term streamflow variability and trends in SCC, here we report findings of an analysis of instrumental records and a tree-ring reconstruction of the summer streamflow of the Río Imperial (∼ 37∘ 40′ S–38∘ 50′ S). This is the first reconstruction in Chile targeted at this season. Results from the instrumental streamflow record (∼ 1940 onwards) indicated that the hydrological regime is fundamentally pluvial with a small snowmelt contribution during spring, and evidenced a decreasing trend, both for the summer and the full annual record. The reconstruction showed that streamflow below the average characterized the post-1980 period, with more frequent, but not more intense, drought episodes. We additionally found that the recent positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode has significantly influenced streamflow. These findings agree with previous studies, suggesting a robust regional signal and a shift to a new hydrological scenario. In this paper, we also discuss implications of these results for water managers and stakeholders; we provide rationale and examples that support the need for the incorporation of tree-ring reconstructions into water resources management.