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The influence of small farm reservoir network characteristics on their cumulative hydrological impacts.

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Title: The influence of small farm reservoir network characteristics on their cumulative hydrological impacts.
Authors: Lechevallier, Henri1,2 (AUTHOR) henri.lechevallier@inrae.fr, Dagès, Cécile2 (AUTHOR), Burger-Leenhardt, Delphine1 (AUTHOR), Magand, Claire3 (AUTHOR), Molénat, Jérôme2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Hydrology & Earth System Sciences. Jun2026, Vol. 30 Issue 12, p3853-3874. 22p.
Subject Terms: *Hydrology, *Streamflow, *Irrigation, *Watersheds, *Soil-Water Balance Model, *Ecological impact
Geographic Terms: France
Abstract: In many regions of the world, the use of infrastructure to store runoff and stream water, such as small farm reservoirs, enables irrigation and thereby secures and increases food production. The presence of multiple reservoirs in one catchment has cumulative impacts that are not necessarily the sum of the individual impacts. However, the influence of the composition and spatial configuration of a reservoir network on its hydrological impacts is still largely unknown. In this work, we investigate the influence of various characteristics of a reservoir network with a modeling approach. Our numerical experiment consists of randomly generating multiple small reservoir networks in the same catchment with realistic reservoir numbers, capacities, and spatial distributions and then comparing their hydrological impacts over a 20-year period. The catchment is representative of the agro-pedo-climatic context of southwestern France characterized by the presence of multiple small farm reservoirs for irrigating field crops. The simulations were performed using the distributed agrohydrological model MHYDAS-Small-Reservoirs, which represents small reservoirs and their links with the hydrological network and the irrigated plots. For each simulation, the impacts of reservoirs are assessed relative to a reference situation without reservoirs. To go beyond the evaluation of impacts at the outlet of the catchment solely, we developed a new indicator of low flow that summarizes the low flow experienced along the stream over a period of time. This proportion of network in low flow and the outlet discharge are computed annually and seasonally and their interannual variability is considered. In our context and with current reservoir management rules, we found that the impacts of reservoirs are more important in summer, with discharges reduced by more than 20 % and up to 60 % compared with the reference situation. Moreover, the proportion of low flow in summer is always higher than in the reference situation. The impacts vary considerably between simulations. We show that this variability can be partly explained by the characteristics of the reservoir networks. In particular, the number and distribution of reservoirs play important roles in the seasonal impacts of reservoirs. We provide an interpretation of the influence of the different factors by analyzing how reservoirs affect flows, and question the conditions under which this interpretation can be generalized to other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Energy & Power Source
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  Data: The influence of small farm reservoir network characteristics on their cumulative hydrological impacts.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lechevallier%2C+Henri%22">Lechevallier, Henri</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> henri.lechevallier@inrae.fr</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dagès%2C+Cécile%22">Dagès, Cécile</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burger-Leenhardt%2C+Delphine%22">Burger-Leenhardt, Delphine</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Magand%2C+Claire%22">Magand, Claire</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Molénat%2C+Jérôme%22">Molénat, Jérôme</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Hydrology+%26+Earth+System+Sciences%22">Hydrology & Earth System Sciences</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 30 Issue 12, p3853-3874. 22p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hydrology%22">Hydrology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Streamflow%22">Streamflow</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Irrigation%22">Irrigation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Watersheds%22">Watersheds</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Soil-Water+Balance+Model%22">Soil-Water Balance Model</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ecological+impact%22">Ecological impact</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22France%22">France</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: In many regions of the world, the use of infrastructure to store runoff and stream water, such as small farm reservoirs, enables irrigation and thereby secures and increases food production. The presence of multiple reservoirs in one catchment has cumulative impacts that are not necessarily the sum of the individual impacts. However, the influence of the composition and spatial configuration of a reservoir network on its hydrological impacts is still largely unknown. In this work, we investigate the influence of various characteristics of a reservoir network with a modeling approach. Our numerical experiment consists of randomly generating multiple small reservoir networks in the same catchment with realistic reservoir numbers, capacities, and spatial distributions and then comparing their hydrological impacts over a 20-year period. The catchment is representative of the agro-pedo-climatic context of southwestern France characterized by the presence of multiple small farm reservoirs for irrigating field crops. The simulations were performed using the distributed agrohydrological model MHYDAS-Small-Reservoirs, which represents small reservoirs and their links with the hydrological network and the irrigated plots. For each simulation, the impacts of reservoirs are assessed relative to a reference situation without reservoirs. To go beyond the evaluation of impacts at the outlet of the catchment solely, we developed a new indicator of low flow that summarizes the low flow experienced along the stream over a period of time. This proportion of network in low flow and the outlet discharge are computed annually and seasonally and their interannual variability is considered. In our context and with current reservoir management rules, we found that the impacts of reservoirs are more important in summer, with discharges reduced by more than 20 % and up to 60 % compared with the reference situation. Moreover, the proportion of low flow in summer is always higher than in the reference situation. The impacts vary considerably between simulations. We show that this variability can be partly explained by the characteristics of the reservoir networks. In particular, the number and distribution of reservoirs play important roles in the seasonal impacts of reservoirs. We provide an interpretation of the influence of the different factors by analyzing how reservoirs affect flows, and question the conditions under which this interpretation can be generalized to other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=enr&AN=195100190
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.5194/hess-30-3853-2026
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 22
        StartPage: 3853
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Hydrology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Streamflow
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Irrigation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Watersheds
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Soil-Water Balance Model
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ecological impact
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: France
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The influence of small farm reservoir network characteristics on their cumulative hydrological impacts.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Lechevallier, Henri
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            NameFull: Dagès, Cécile
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            NameFull: Burger-Leenhardt, Delphine
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            NameFull: Magand, Claire
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            NameFull: Molénat, Jérôme
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            – D: 15
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 30
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            – TitleFull: Hydrology & Earth System Sciences
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