Flowpaths, source water contributions and water residence times in a Mexican tropical dry forest catchment

- We examined runoff generation in a tropical dry forest.
- We used a combined hydrometric, isotopic and geochemical approach.
- Pre-event water contributions to stormflow ranged from 72% to 92%.
- Geochemistry indicates that runoff originates from the saturated zone.
- Stream residence times support deep subsurface contributions to runoff.

SummaryRunoff in forested tropical catchments has been frequently described in the literature as dominated by the rapid translation of rainfall to runoff through surface and shallow subsurface pathways. However, studies examining runoff generation in tropical catchments with highly permeable soils have received little attention, particularly in tropical dry forests. We present a study focused on identifying the dominant flowpaths, water sources and stream water residence times in a tropical dry forest catchment near the Pacific coast of central Mexico. During the wet season, pre-event water contributions to stormflow ranged from 72% to 97%, with the concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium closely coupling the geochemistry of baseflow and groundwater from the narrow riparian/near-stream zone. Baseflow from the intermittent stream showed a strongly damped isotopic signature and a mean baseflow residence time of 52-110 days was estimated. These findings all suggest that instead of the surface and near-surface subsurface lateral pathways observed over many tropical catchments, runoff is generated through vertical flow processes and the displacement and discharge of stored water from the saturated zone. As the wet season progressed, contributions from the saturated zone persisted; however, the stormflow and baseflow geochemistry suggests that the contributing area of the catchment increased. Our results show that during the early part of the wet season, runoff originated primarily from the headwater portion of the catchment. As the wet season progressed and catchment wetness increased, connectivity among sub-basin was improved, resulting in runoff contributions from across the entire catchment.