Watersheds and streamflow regimes 
General Background:
Rivers and river systems serve as conduits for nutrients and organisms, corridors for fish and wildlife passage, and provide resources for humans. In order to preserve stream functionality, rivers must maintain seasonally adequate flows. Within a given climatic region, water resource managers seeking to optimize stream ecosystem services need an understanding of the effects of land use, physical/climatic characteristics, and hydrography on different components of stream hydrographs.
Our Approach:
In this study, we assessed relationships between watershed variables and flow parameters within 33 Southern New England watersheds. We used an information theoretical approach to develop regression models to identify relationships between landscape attributes and flow components.
Preliminary Results: 
We found physical variables were important for predicting the variability for the low and high flow magnitudes. In contrast, for low pulse duration and count, only hydrographic variables along with drainage density were important. For the one day maximum flows, the amount of open water in the watershed was important. For low flows, the mean August precipitation was an important variable in contrast to the mean April precipitation for high flows. Based on our regression models flow magnitudes are likely to be governed largely by natural features of the watershed, while duration and frequency of extreme flows are largely governed by fewer variables that include the mean April precipitation, amount of wetlands in the watershed, percentage of stratified drift and drainage density.
Take-home message:
The results suggest that sustaining the spectrum of flow components that support riverine ecosystem functions requires a multi-faceted approach to watershed management rather than a narrow focus on any single watershed variable.
