Rainfall intensity and catchment size control storm runoff in a gullied blanket peatland

• Rainfall intensity is the dominant hydro-meteorological control of runoff response from peatland catchments in high magnitude storms. Runoff processes even saturation-excess overland flow landscapes are sensitive to scale. There a role for attenuation controlling peak discharge large Upland blanket peat widespread headwaters UK catchments, but much it has been degraded through atmospheric pollution, vegetation change and erosion. generation these an important element downstream flood risk areas increasingly focus interventions restore ecosystem potentially mitigate flooding. Here we use series multivariate analysis techniques examine controls on storm behavior within between ten all 5 km one another ranging size 0.2 3.9 ha. We find that: 1) 10 rainfall driver both timing discharge, that total antecedent only small storms; 2) there considerable inter-catchment variability in: coefficient, lag time, runoff, their predictability rainfall; however, 3) significant fraction can be explained by catchment characteristics, particularly area; 4) coefficient storms highlight importance storage connectivity while those events suggest surface dominates. Together results switching rainfall-runoff where storage, conditions peaks become irrelevant larger Our that, context Natural Flood Management potential, expanding depression (e.g. distributed shallow water pools) addition existing restoration methods could increase range which remain measures target velocities likely important.