Lechevallier et al. (2026) The influence of small farm reservoir network characteristics on their cumulative hydrological impacts

Identification

• Journal: Hydrology and earth system sciences
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-24
• Authors: Henri Lechevallier, Cécile Dagès, Delphine Leenhardt, Claire Magand, Jérôme Molénat
• DOI: 10.5194/hess-30-3853-2026

Research Groups

• LISAH, Univ. Montpellier, AgroParisTech, INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
• G-EAU, Univ. Montpellier, AgroParisTech, BRGM, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
• OFB, OrlÃans, France

Short Summary

This study investigates the influence of small farm reservoir network characteristics on their cumulative hydrological impacts using a modeling approach. The results show that the number and distribution of reservoirs play important roles in the seasonal impacts of reservoirs.

Objective

• Investigate how the cumulative hydrological impacts in a catchment are influenced by the density of small reservoirs, total capacity of the reservoirs, and distribution of reservoirs along the stream network.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: A 19.8 km^2 hilly catchment in southwestern France with an intermittent stream.
• Temporal Scale: 20-year period from September 1995 to January 2021.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: MHYDAS-Small-Reservoirs, a spatially distributed agro-hydrological model that includes a representation of small reservoirs.
• Data sources: SAFRAN climatic data, hourly rainfall and temperature, daily minimum temperature and reference evapotranspiration.

Main Results

• The impacts of reservoirs are more important in summer, with discharges reduced by more than 20% and up to 60% compared with the reference situation.
• The proportion of low flow in summer is always higher than in the reference situation.
• The variability in the impacts can be partly explained by the characteristics of the reservoir networks.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the factors that drive the hydrological impacts of small farm reservoirs and their cumulative effects on a catchment's stream network.

Funding

• This research was funded by [insert funding sources, e.g. projects, programs, reference codes].

Citation

@article{Lechevallier2026influence,
  author = {Lechevallier, Henri and Dagès, Cécile and Leenhardt, Delphine and Magand, Claire and Molénat, Jérôme},
  title = {The influence of small farm reservoir network characteristics on their cumulative hydrological impacts},
  journal = {Hydrology and earth system sciences},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.5194/hess-30-3853-2026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3853-2026}
}