As an efficient filter of airborne Hg compounds, forests retain a significant portion of the Hg deposited to the land. Forested watersheds have been identified as major sources of low-concentration Hg compounds to surrounding streams and lakes. Mercury export from forests is highly variable in both space and time. It is difficult to use field surveys alone to capture the spatiotemporal variation inherent in this variable. Mathematical models are required for improved representation. The objective of this Thesis is to develop and test a monthly dynamic model that can be used to estimate seasonal Hg export from forested watersheds to low-ordered forest streams. The fully developed model consists of four model components: (i) a forest hydrology component, to simulate variation in soil temperature, soil moisture, and stream discharge for input to the other model components; (ii) a forest nutrient cycling and biomass growth component, to simulate forest growth and litter production; (iii) a forest litter decomposition component, to simulate seasonal production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC); and (iv) a monthly DOC and Hg export component to simulate the translocation of DOC and Hg from forested watersheds to low-ordered streams. The Hg-export component incorporates an Hg-to-DOC binding coefficient estimated from a one-time stream survey of Hg and DOC concentrations. Simulations of in-stream Hg concentrations show two main trends: (i) an annual trend, associated with the seasonal (monthly) dynamics of forest litter production, decomposition, and DOC production and export, and (ii) a multiple-year trend, associated with forest harvesting and re-growth patterns of regenerating forests. This study demonstrates that (i) wetland- and conifer-dominated watersheds release a greater amount of Hg to aquatic ecosystems than upland- and deciduous species-dominated watersheds, and (ii) forests nearing maturity, export more Hg than young forests.

Forested watersheds play a dominant role in the global hydrological cycle. Very few experimental observatories especially in tropical forested regions of India have been undertaken. This study has been initiated for this reason and to gain insights into functioning of the hydrological system in such climatic conditions. This study involves experimental setup of a watershed, it’s monitoring till date, modelling of the hydrological processes observed and the challenges in modelling components of the water balance in this watershed. A Small Experimental Watershed of 4.3 Km2 was set up at Mule Hole, in South India along the Kerala-Karnataka State borders, and is situated inside the Bandipur National park. After an overview of watershed studies, review of literature related to forest watershed studies and processes in the first two chapters, Chapter 3 introduces the study area, Mule Hole Experimental Watershed and explains the methodology used to study this watershed. Model SWAT was used initially to simulate the water balance components. A brief description of the model, methodology adopted and discussion on the results obtained is presented in Chapter 4. The watershed initially modelled as an ungauged watershed using the default parameters in the model, simulated very high groundwater contribution to the runoff. The calibrated model although performed favourably for annual average values and monthly calibration, the daily calibration was unsatisfactory. An auxiliary study on quantification of actual and potential evapotranspiration (ET0) has been carried out in Chapter 5 . Ten methods including Penman-Montieth were compared and evaluated for efficacy of the methods. All methods except for Hargreaves method showed agreement with the Penman-Montieth for annual average values. Priestly-Taylor method was found be the best estimator in comparison with Penman-Montieth method, when used to estimate AET. Adjusted Hargreaves and FAO Blaney -Criddle method were found to be very useful when few or limited climatic data were available for estimation of Potential evapotranspiration. A multidisciplinary approach of estimating recharge consisting of chloride mass balance technique coupled with study of water table fluctuations and groundwater flow analytical modelling has been attempted in Chapter 6. Direct and localized recharge was estimated at 45 mm/yr and indirect recharge 30 mm/yr for the monitored years in the watershed. The low values of recharge rates implied an unexpected very high evapotranspiration rate. It may be inferred that in the absence of groundwater flow to the stream, the recharge joins groundwater flow as outflow of the hydrologic system. An integrated lumped model incorporating the regolith zone and the capability of the tree roots to access this store is presented in Chapter 7. The model was able to simulate the pattern of lag-time between water table rise was observed in shallow piezometers in comparison with hillslope piezometers. The patterns of water table variation among the different hillslope piezometers suggest that they are linked with local processes and not by a regional aquifer dynamics. This study shows that water uptake, combined with the spatial variability of regolith depth, can account for the variable lag time between drainage events and groundwater rise observed for the different piezometers. Chapter 8 discusses the results, conclusions derived from this study and possibility of further scope of studies.