The hydrological effects of the conversion of forested land to other land uses (and vice versa) are to a large degree
unknown. The present study investigate the effect of natural regrowth of forest on the regional hydrological cycle,
and in particular the effects on streamflow. The Dragonja catchment (covering SW Slovenia and NW Croatia)
was chosen because the land use changed significantly in this region over the last 50 years. Satellite data and
field observations were used to study the hydrological effect of land use change. Historical remote sensing data
from Landsat and ASTER revealed a significant change from agriculture to forest within the catchment. From
1973 to 2002 26% changed from agricultural field to forest. In the same period both the baseflow and the storm
and flood frequency dropped significantly. A large part of the streamflow changes may probably be linked to
precipitation changes in this region, making the hydrological study on reforestation a difficult task. Until now
no significant link between reforestation and changes in the hydrological cycle was found and more research is
needed to fully understand the hydrological system in this region.
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