Determinants of peak discharge in steep mountain catchments - Case of the Rift Valley escarpment of Northern Ethiopia

- In reforesting steep mountain catchments, daily rainfall determines peak discharge.
- Vegetation cover and its relative distance from the thalweg determine peak discharge.
- Daily peak discharges are useful to analyze hydrology of steep mountain catchments.

SummaryPeak discharge is an important hydrological parameter of mountain torrents. However, due to the flashy and destructive nature of their stream flows, it is usually difficult to understand the hydrological behavior of steep mountain catchments through direct measurements of discharges. In this study, 332 daily peak discharge events from 11 steep (0.27-0.65 m m−1) catchments (0.4-25 km2) were measured in three rainy seasons (2012-2014) with the objective of analyzing runoff response of steep mountain catchments in the western Rift Valley escarpment of Northern Ethiopia. Seven rain gauges were installed at different altitudes (1623-2851 m a.s.l.) in and nearby the catchments. Event peak discharges were calculated using the Manning's equation from daily measurements of maximum discharge height at 11 crest stage gauges. Percentages of land cover classes were detected from high resolution (0.6 m) Google Earth Imagery (February 1, 2014). Morphometric characteristics of the catchments were computed both from ASTER digital elevation model (DEM) and topographic maps. Correlation analysis between average daily precipitation (Pd) and peak discharge (Qp) showed strong positive relation (R2 = 0.32-0.94, P < 0.05) in all the catchments. Catchment-specific peak discharge coefficient (Cp) showed a strong decreasing relation with vegetation cover (R2 = 0.85, P < 0.01), relative distance of vegetation cover from the thalweg (R2 = 0.55, P < 0.01), combined index of vegetation cover and its relative distance from the thalweg (R2 = 0.76, P < 0.01), catchment length (R2 = 0.37, P < 0.05) and time of concentration (R2 = 0.43, P < 0.05). It was correlated positively with catchment slope gradient (R2 = 0.37, P < 0.05) and index of vegetation distribution (R2 = 0.45, P < 0.05). A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that 99% (P < 0.01) of the variability of catchment-specific peak discharge coefficient in the catchments can be predicted by vegetation cover and infiltration number. Overall, this study demonstrates that in reforesting steep mountain catchments, where direct measurement of discharges using the conventional methods is difficult due to the flashy and destructive nature of the stream flows, hydrological variability can easily be understood using simple measurements of daily precipitation and peak discharges. Further, runoff response is determined by precipitation event and strongly by percentage of vegetation cover and its strategic location: farther from the thalweg in the sloping sides of the catchments.