Acta Scientiarum Polonorum
serie Formatio Circumiectus – Environmental Processes
RESEARCH PAPER
Forty years later—Changes in rainfall-runoff parameters in the Goč Mountains, Serbia: Climate change or simply the effect of vegetation changes?
1
Mendel University in Brno/Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology
Submission date: 2026-01-29
Final revision date: 2026-03-11
Acceptance date: 2026-04-09
Online publication date: 2026-09-17
Publication date: 2026-09-17
HIGHLIGHTS
- Comparative study of three mountain microwatersheds in the Serbian Republic
- Comparison of rainfall-runoff process data between 1980–1983 and 2022–2025
- Significant decrease in total runoff from microwatersheds between the two periods
- Lengthening of the summer season and a decrease in runoff during the winter season
KEYWORDS
runoff coefficientrunoff-precipitation processhydrological extremesmountain forested microwatersheds
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Aim of the study:
This article presents the results of a comparative study of three mountain microwatersheds near the village of Brezna (Serbian Republic) focused on comparing rainfall-runoff process data between the 1980–1983 and 2022–2025 periods.
Material and methods:
Two of the studied catchments are forested catchments, whereas the third catchment contains no forest vegetation. This study aimed to compare historical data for individual microwatersheds from the 1980s with data from the 2020s and to compare individual catchments. Changes in runoff characteristics were correlated with the development of vegetation cover in the studied watersheds and with changes in climatic parameters due to global climate change.
Results and conclusions:
The results of this study revealed a significant decrease in the total runoff from the microwatersheds between the two periods (with annual average values of approximately 40% for the forested microwatersheds and 67% for the nonforested microwatershed). Moreover, while a close correlation between rainfall-runoff process parameters and the ability of tree vegetation (forest) to actively influence this process was observed in the studied microwatersheds during the 1980s, this ability disappeared during the 2000s, and the rainfall-runoff process parameters were more closely correlated with the total precipitation in the microwatersheds. Notably, this correlation was stronger in the nonforested microwatershed than in the forested microwatersheds.
This article presents the results of a comparative study of three mountain microwatersheds near the village of Brezna (Serbian Republic) focused on comparing rainfall-runoff process data between the 1980–1983 and 2022–2025 periods.
Material and methods:
Two of the studied catchments are forested catchments, whereas the third catchment contains no forest vegetation. This study aimed to compare historical data for individual microwatersheds from the 1980s with data from the 2020s and to compare individual catchments. Changes in runoff characteristics were correlated with the development of vegetation cover in the studied watersheds and with changes in climatic parameters due to global climate change.
Results and conclusions:
The results of this study revealed a significant decrease in the total runoff from the microwatersheds between the two periods (with annual average values of approximately 40% for the forested microwatersheds and 67% for the nonforested microwatershed). Moreover, while a close correlation between rainfall-runoff process parameters and the ability of tree vegetation (forest) to actively influence this process was observed in the studied microwatersheds during the 1980s, this ability disappeared during the 2000s, and the rainfall-runoff process parameters were more closely correlated with the total precipitation in the microwatersheds. Notably, this correlation was stronger in the nonforested microwatershed than in the forested microwatersheds.
| ISSN: | 1644-0765 |
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