Element Budgets

Citation

Cerny J, Billett M & Cresser MS (1994) Element Budgets. In: Moldan B & Cerny J (eds.) Biogeochemistry of Small Catchments: A Tool for Environmental Research. SCOPE series, 51. SCOPE Workshop, November 1990, Most, Czech Republic. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 189-205. http://dge.stanford.edu/SCOPE/SCOPE_51/SCOPE_51.html

Abstract
First paragraph: The very definition of a catchment points to the concept of the water cycle: the catchment is a landscape unit where all outflowing water is derived from precipitation falling on the surface of the catchment. A catchment may be defined in the horizontal sense by the topographical water divide and vertically in some arbitrary way (for instance, as the zone of intensive biological and biogeochemical activity between unweathered and impermeable bedrock up to tree tops).