Water movement through the landscape to streams provides a fundamental linkage between
terrestrial and aquatic environments in headwater systems. Headwater streams, which are the
smallest and most abundant streams, are critical components of drainage systems, connecting
important terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemical cycles and influencing the nutrient dynamics of
downstream ecosystems. Given the importance of water presence and movement as a driver of
biogeochemical transformations and the transport of material from terrestrial to aquatic
ecosystems, the primary goal of this research was to quantify the distribution across and movement
of water and other elements through a forested watershed to a headwater stream and ultimately to
an inland lake in the glacial drift landscape of northern Michigan, U.S.A. To investigate the
temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of water across the watershed and in Honeysuckle Creek,
stream discharge, shallow groundwater levels, soil moisture, and water chemistry were measured
from 2015–2017. Along the stream, surface flow was seasonal in the main stem and perennial
flow was spatially discontinuous for all but the lowest reaches. Spring snowmelt was the dominant
hydrological event in the year with peak flows an order of magnitude larger than annual mean
discharge. Topography and soil characteristics strongly influence water and dissolved matter
movement through the landscape. Water presence across the watershed was highly variable with
perennial soil saturation and shallow groundwater within 10 cm of the surface at the lowest
landscape positions, low soil moisture and nonexistent groundwater in upland outwash