Dominant source areas shift seasonally from longitudinal to lateral contributions in a montane headwater stream

[Display omitted] •We evaluated hydrologic connectivity of distinct landscape units in 3-dimensions.•Hydrometric evaluations of catchment wetness revealed three distinct seasons.•End Member Mixing Analysis showed spatiotemporal shifts in source areas.•Upstream contributions were less important to downstream streamflow among seasons.•Local lateral contributions sustained streamflow through summer and fall seasons. Montane ecoregions are important vehicles for downstream hydrologic function, but their dynamics are relatively understudied compared to alpine and subalpine catchments in the western United States. Montane catchments experience shifts in precipitation inputs seasonally, which results in spatiotemporal differences in source area contributions to the stream. We collected hydrometric and geochemical data between 2018 and 2021 from a 2.65 km2 semi-arid headwater catchment in the Front Range of Colorado, USA. Using a combined approach of hydrometric monitoring, geochemical characterization, and end-member mixing analysis (EMMA), we assess hydrologic connectivity between areas with high upslope accumulation and the stream. Within our study area, high upslope accumulation area corresponded to alluvial/ colluvial fans wherein we focused instrumentation and water sample collection. Using observed rainfall, and multiyear measurements of groundwater levels, soil moisture, and streamflow, we observed distinct hydrologic seasons within our catchment characterized by snowmelt during the spring, rainstorms during the summer, and a return to baseflow during the fall. Within this framework, we found that source areas to streamflow shift with longitudinal distance downstream, and among hydrologic seasons. Notably, our EMMA results indicate that contributions from upstream source areas become less important than lateral inputs from spring snowmelt into the fall return to baseflow. This was most pronounced at the upper catchment where upstream contributions to streamflow decreased up to 33.3% between spring and fall. These results suggest that streamflow is maintained by local source areas contributing laterally and vertically. Our results reflect dynamic shifts in hydrologic connectivity in space and in time, which are increasingly important to land and water resource management given rapid climate changes within the western United States.