Preface

The river basin, watershed, or catchment is central to many of the concepts in hydrology [1], and scientific hydrology was found in two basin studies in the Seine river basin during the end of the seventeenth century as suggested by UNESCO/WMO/IAHS [2]. However, basin studies developed slowly until the end of the nineteenth century when public demands ac‐ celerated. Since the early twentieth century, a multitude of basin studies have appeared, in‐ cluding the Wagon Wheel Gap experiment of the USA begun in 1910 in two forested basins, the Valdai Branch of the State Hydrological Institute (for field experimental investigations) of the former USSR in 1933, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory of the USA set up since 1934, Harz Mountains experiment of Germany begun in 1948, Alrance experiment of France start‐ ed in 1950, Bluebrook Runoff Experiment of China established in 1953, and so on. This can be regarded as the first stage of hydrological experimentation. A period of rapid worldwide development resulted from the representative and experimental basin (EB) program provid‐ ed by the first International Hydrology Decade (UNESCO/IHD) since 1965, with an estimat‐ ed 3000 basin studies conducted over the world during the decade. It can be regarded as the second stage of development. Since this flourishes it has been going on for more than five decades up to now, what faced in the present is a changing nature of great transition with anthropogenic perturbation, replumbing of the hydrologic cycle, and natural climate oscilla‐ tions. In 2006, a paper coauthored by 12 scientists resulted from a CUAHSI vision workshop pointed out that "Yet, most field experiments and observations in watershed science to date, remain largely descriptive. Many of these field studies have not set out to seek fundamental truth or understanding (nor test any formal theory or hypothesis per se)" and "We should instead focus on the development of systematic measurement programs that are specifically targeted to the generation of tests of new theories" [3]. We have to thus aim at the substan‐ tial progress in hydrologic science toward "a new unified hydrologic theory" as Sivapalan has suggested [4]. May we believe that the third stage of the transition of hydrological ex‐ periments of reforming is irresistible, perhaps it has begun already.

Werner Heisenberg had warned that "what we observe is not nature herself, but nature ex‐ posed to our method of questioning." Perhaps, there is a misunderstanding in hydrological experiments to place hopes on natural watershed for trying to lift her veil of complexities. In fact even in small scale most natural watershed will keep doggedly her own character of complexity with some degree of organization, it follows that the manipulation experiments very likely can play their unique role to making some changes for it. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," the venture for watershed experimentation may be using some kind of measures to manipulate a part of the nature for what we want her to expose.

Actually, since John Hewlett's trough hillslope experiment at Coweeta in the late 1950s, a lot of development has been achieved including controlled slope, artificial catchment, and even that in phytotron. The goal of this book is to stimulate the approach of manipulation in pro‐ moting watershed hydrological experimentation. Hopefully, it can demonstrate that the con‐ trolled and artificial experiments are a promising way of useful and effective generation of tests of new theories.

This book is organized on the basis of nine different manipulation types from six countries, including field lysimeter, field runoff plot, field manipulated EB, field artificial catchment, laboratory pedon (rock), laboratory lysimeter, laboratory hillslope, phytotron artificial catch‐ ment, and artificial river segment (Table 1).

In completing this book, first and foremost, we would like to thank the contributors for their interests, expertise, and insights that have made this book possible. We would like to thank all the peer reviewers who donated their valuable time. We are grateful to Jian-Yun Zhang, Jeffrey McDonnell, Henry Lin, Werner Gerwin, Peter Troch, Jan Frouz, James V. Bonta, and Martin J. Shipitalo for their encouragements and support during the planning of this book. Thanks also go to Dajana Pemac, Danijela Duric, Ana Pantar, and Maja Bozicevic, Publish‐ ing Managers of IntechOpen, for initiating this book and for their patience and editorial ef‐ forts in bringing this book to completion.

**Jiu-Fu Liu and Wei-Zu Gu**

Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institutes Ministry of Water Resources, China

#### **References**



that in phytotron. The goal of this book is to stimulate the approach of manipulation in pro‐ moting watershed hydrological experimentation. Hopefully, it can demonstrate that the con‐ trolled and artificial experiments are a promising way of useful and effective generation of

This book is organized on the basis of nine different manipulation types from six countries, including field lysimeter, field runoff plot, field manipulated EB, field artificial catchment, laboratory pedon (rock), laboratory lysimeter, laboratory hillslope, phytotron artificial catch‐

In completing this book, first and foremost, we would like to thank the contributors for their interests, expertise, and insights that have made this book possible. We would like to thank all the peer reviewers who donated their valuable time. We are grateful to Jian-Yun Zhang, Jeffrey McDonnell, Henry Lin, Werner Gerwin, Peter Troch, Jan Frouz, James V. Bonta, and Martin J. Shipitalo for their encouragements and support during the planning of this book. Thanks also go to Dajana Pemac, Danijela Duric, Ana Pantar, and Maja Bozicevic, Publish‐ ing Managers of IntechOpen, for initiating this book and for their patience and editorial ef‐

[1] Rodda JC. Basin Studies. In: Rodda JC (ed.) Facets of Hydrology. London: John

[2] UNESCO/WMO/IAHS. Three Centuries of Scientific Hydrology. Paris: Unesco;

[3] McDonnell JJ, Sivapalan M, Vache K, Dunn S, Grant G, Haggerty R, Hinz C, Hoo‐ per R, Kirchner J, Roderick ML, Selker J, Weiler M. Moving beyond heterogeneity and process complexity: A new vision for watershed hydrology. Water Resources

[4] Sivapalan M. Pattern, Process and Function: Elements of a Unified Theory of Hy‐ drology at the Catchment Scale. In: Anderson MG (ed.) Encyclopedia of Hydro‐

logical Science. John Wiley & Sons; 2005. pp. 193-219.

**Jiu-Fu Liu and Wei-Zu Gu**

Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institutes Ministry of Water Resources, China

tests of new theories.

VIII Preface

**References**

1974.

ment, and artificial river segment (Table 1).

forts in bringing this book to completion.

Wiley & Sons; 1976. pp. 257-297.

Research. 2007;43:W07301.

**Chapter 1**

Provisional chapter

**Experimental Watersheds at Coshocton, Ohio, USA:**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.73596

The North Appalachian Experimental Watershed (NAEW) in Ohio was established in 1935 to improve economical and physical sustainability in agriculture. The objectives were to test management practices on small watersheds, investigate scaling of runoff and erosion to larger areas, and research ways to extrapolate the results to ungauged areas. The facility was equipped with a permanent infrastructure consisting of runoff stations and rain gauges for watersheds ranging in size from 0.26 to 1854 ha, and 11 large (0.008 ha) monolith lysimeters to investigate small-scale water balances, all in an area greater than 2000 ha. After about 1970, the NAEW was reduced in size to 425 ha consisting of mostly small watersheds ("test beds") ranging in size from 0.26 to 3.07 ha. The NAEW was in operation for approximately 81 years generating a long record of runoff and other data for various watersheds, and closed in 2015. A wide variety of experiments were conducted on the NAEW with many high-impact accomplishments and addressing emerging issues that founders never envisioned. Nearly, 500 publications came from investigations during the history of the facility, and insights for establishing new experimental watersheds are presented covering site selection, funding, site specificity, extrapolation of results, generation of runoff in different physiographic regions, collaboration, off-site investigations, and instrumentation. The research on water quality was added to the research objectives in the 1970s, including nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and pesticides in surface runoff and

Keywords: experimental watersheds, lysimeter, precipitation measurement, runoff

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and eproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

measurement, agriculture, hydrology, water quality

Experimental Watersheds at Coshocton, Ohio, USA:

**Experiences and Establishing New Experimental**

Experiences and Establishing New Experimental

James V. Bonta, Martin J. Shipitalo and Lloyd Owens

James V. Bonta, Martin J. Shipitalo and Lloyd Owens

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73596

**Watersheds**

Abstract

subsurface flow.

Watersheds

#### **Experimental Watersheds at Coshocton, Ohio, USA: Experiences and Establishing New Experimental Watersheds** Experimental Watersheds at Coshocton, Ohio, USA: Experiences and Establishing New Experimental Watersheds

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.73596

James V. Bonta, Martin J. Shipitalo and Lloyd Owens James V. Bonta, Martin J. Shipitalo and Lloyd Owens

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73596

#### Abstract

The North Appalachian Experimental Watershed (NAEW) in Ohio was established in 1935 to improve economical and physical sustainability in agriculture. The objectives were to test management practices on small watersheds, investigate scaling of runoff and erosion to larger areas, and research ways to extrapolate the results to ungauged areas. The facility was equipped with a permanent infrastructure consisting of runoff stations and rain gauges for watersheds ranging in size from 0.26 to 1854 ha, and 11 large (0.008 ha) monolith lysimeters to investigate small-scale water balances, all in an area greater than 2000 ha. After about 1970, the NAEW was reduced in size to 425 ha consisting of mostly small watersheds ("test beds") ranging in size from 0.26 to 3.07 ha. The NAEW was in operation for approximately 81 years generating a long record of runoff and other data for various watersheds, and closed in 2015. A wide variety of experiments were conducted on the NAEW with many high-impact accomplishments and addressing emerging issues that founders never envisioned. Nearly, 500 publications came from investigations during the history of the facility, and insights for establishing new experimental watersheds are presented covering site selection, funding, site specificity, extrapolation of results, generation of runoff in different physiographic regions, collaboration, off-site investigations, and instrumentation. The research on water quality was added to the research objectives in the 1970s, including nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and pesticides in surface runoff and subsurface flow.

Keywords: experimental watersheds, lysimeter, precipitation measurement, runoff measurement, agriculture, hydrology, water quality

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and eproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
