Rudlang et al. (2026) Climate and landscape jointly control European streamflow behaviour

Identification

• Journal: Hydrology and earth system sciences
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-17
• Authors: Julia M. Rudlang, Thiago Victor Medeiros do Nascimento, Ruud van der Ent, Fabrizio Fenicia, Markus Hrachowitz
• DOI: 10.5194/hess-30-4481-2026

Research Groups

• Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
• Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Switzerland)
• Department of Geography, University of Zurich (Switzerland)

Short Summary

This study uses a large dataset of over 7000 catchments in Europe to identify hydrological response types (HRTs) based on 40 hydrological signatures. The results show that climate emerges as the dominant driver of hydrological behavior at the continental scale, but landscape attributes are also important controls on the hydrological response in some environments and at various spatial scales.

Objective

• Identify more detailed classes of distinct hydrological response types (HRTs) across Europe.
• Describe the spatially varying roles of climate and landscape as controls on the hydrological response.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Continental scale, covering over 7000 catchments in Europe.
• Temporal Scale: Long-term averages and inter-annual variability of magnitude, timing, duration, frequency, and seasonality.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Random Forest classification model for predicting HRT membership from climate- and landscape attributes.
• Data sources: EStreams dataset, which includes hydrological, hydro-meteorological, and landscape data from 7175 catchments across Europe.

Main Results

• Climate emerges as the dominant driver of hydrological behavior at the continental scale.
• Landscape attributes are also important controls on the hydrological response in some environments and at various spatial scales.
• The study identifies 10 HRTs, which can be distinguished based on their hydrological signatures.

Contributions

• This study provides a more detailed understanding of the relationships between climate, landscape, and hydrological behavior across Europe.
• The results highlight the importance of considering both climate and landscape attributes when predicting hydrological response patterns.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Rudlang2026Climate,
  author = {Rudlang, Julia M. and Nascimento, Thiago Victor Medeiros do and Ent, Ruud van der and Fenicia, Fabrizio and Hrachowitz, Markus},
  title = {Climate and landscape jointly control European streamflow behaviour},
  journal = {Hydrology and earth system sciences},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.5194/hess-30-4481-2026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4481-2026}
}