The interseasonal dynamics of the runoff of small rivers in the forest-steppe zone of the Nizhny Novgorod region under the conditions of the low-snow winter of 2024–2025 analyzed using computer modeling

The article examines the inter-seasonal dynamics of the runoff of small rivers in the forest-steppe zone of the Nizhny Novgorod region in the conditions of the low-snow winter of 2024-25, and compares the unevenness of the interseasonal runoff after the low-snow winter of 2025 and the winter with normal snow cover in 2024. The researches were conducted during the spring flood and summer low water in 2024 and 2025 on the Rauzha and Panshenka rivers using the "speed-area" method. The results of the study were analyzed using computer modeling and topographic maps were presented. The results showed a significant decrease in spring runoff in 2025. Under the influence of a low-snow winter, a decrease in runoff was recorded by 24% in the headwaters of the Rauzha River and by 68% on the Panshenka River. In the lower course of the Rauzha River, the runoff increased by 204%. There was no summer runoff on the Panshenka River, and it almost completely disappeared in the lower course of the Rauzha River. In comparison with the previous observation period in 2024, in the conditions of a low-snow winter, there was a more than twofold increase in the unevenness of runoff between the spring flood and the summer fall. The research confirms the high vulnerability of small forest-steppe rivers with limited catchment areas to extreme climatic events, especially in conditions of intensive agricultural land use and disturbed forest cover. The results highlight the need for a landscape approach in managing the region's water resources.