Streamflow Increases Following Farm Abandonment on Eastern New York Watershed

Analyses of long‐term precipitation, temperature, and runoff records indicate that runoff from a 180‐square‐mile watershed in New York State is undergoing a slow but steady change. Although potential evapotranspiration has remained constant, percentages of precipitation appearing as runoff, dormant season runoff, and total runoff have all increased as abandoned farm land passes through a brush and scrub forest stage before reverting to the mature forest. (Key words: Forest; land use; runoff)