Hydrological monitoring
 Hydrological monitoring is a basic prerequisite for understanding the water cycle in the landscape and for describing and quantifying the processes involved in this cycle. During the International Hydrological Decade (1965-1974), a large number of experimental catchments were set up to study hydrological processes at this scale. Well-defined small catchments, which are instrumented to a high standard, provide a valuable basis for comprehensive research of physical, chemical and biological processes. They are therefore multidisciplinary 'natural laboratories'. The existence of long-term observations in such catchments has become more important due to the changes in the natural environment (e.g. climate change or anthropogenic influences). Currently, there is a significant shift in the observed variables from basic state variables that characterise the amount of water present or flowing (precipitation, runoff, groundwater level, etc.) to a detailed description of the water present at a given site in terms of its age and origin.
Main experimental sites
The Institute of Hydrodynamics of the CAS has a long tradition of studying hydrological processes at the small catchment scale. Basic hydrological research in the Volyňka catchment in Šumava was initiated within the International Hydrological Decade and continuous monitoring has been carried out there since 1975. This small forested catchment called Liz is part of the European network of Experimental and Representative Basins - ERB. Hydrological research was gradually supplemented by geochemical and hydropedological research and was converted to fully automatic with remote data transmission.
Another site with detailed monitoring is the Rokytka basin located in the upper part of the Vydra basin (Šumava). The specific feature of this site is the occurrence of various types of waterlogged surfaces. Here, our activities focus on the study of runoff formation and the response of the catchment to rainfall. Parameters such as soil moisture and temperature, groundwater level, flow rate, selected physical and chemical properties of surface and groundwater are monitored.
Additional measurements of mainly climatic parameters (precipitation, air temperature and humidity, radiation, etc.) for the Šumava region are obtained at our stations at Roklan, Poledník, Mokrůvka, Březník, Jezerní hora, Vysoké Stolec, and Hraběcí cesta.
Different natural conditions prevail at our other site in the Polabí region near Velký Osek. Permeable soils, high average air temperature and low rainfall are the cause of the often very dry soil profile. Here our monitoring focuses on the distribution of rainwater, evaporation and water consumption by vegetation. Since summer 2023 we have been obtaining detailed data from a newly installed device measuring evaporation, and a year earlier we started measuring sap flow in local forests.
You can find an overview of the locations and monitored parameters in our database: HydroMetaData.
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