McMillan (2026) Forest streamflow driven by soils, topography and previous rains

Identification

• Journal: Nature Water
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-06
• Authors: Hilary McMillan
• DOI: 10.1038/s44221-025-00570-0

Research Groups

Department of Geography, San Diego State University, San Diego, USA

Short Summary

This News & Views article provides expert commentary on a global synthesis of forested catchments, emphasizing the critical and sometimes surprising roles of soils, topography, and antecedent rainfall conditions in driving forest streamflow.

Objective

• To provide expert commentary and contextualize the findings of a global synthesis on forested catchments, highlighting the primary drivers of forest streamflow, including the importance of overland flow, soils, and antecedent conditions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: The article discusses a global synthesis of forested catchments.
• Temporal Scale: The article discusses hydrological processes, which typically span multiple rainfall events and seasons, but the specific temporal scale of the discussed synthesis is not detailed in this commentary.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable for this News & Views article, which is a commentary.
• Data sources: Analysis and interpretation of existing scientific literature, specifically a global synthesis paper on forested catchments (e.g., Penna, D. Nat. Water, 2026).

Main Results

• The article highlights that soils, topography, and previous rainfall (antecedent conditions) are identified as key drivers of forest streamflow.
• It emphasizes surprising insights from a global synthesis regarding the significant importance of overland flow in forested catchments.

Contributions

• Provides a concise, expert interpretation and contextualization of recent significant findings in forest hydrology.
• Synthesizes the implications of a global study on the fundamental controls of streamflow generation in forested environments for a broader scientific audience.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{McMillan2026Forest,
  author = {McMillan, Hilary},
  title = {Forest streamflow driven by soils, topography and previous rains},
  journal = {Nature Water},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1038/s44221-025-00570-0},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-025-00570-0}
}