scholarly journals Impacts of land-use and climate changes on surface runoff in a tropical forest watershed (Brazil)

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 1956-1973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja ◽  
Bruno Gianmarco Carrà ◽  
João Pedro Nunes ◽  
Léonard Bernard-Jannin ◽  
Demetrio Antonio Zema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Tropical Forest ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Forest Watershed

Hydrological effects of climate and land use changes in regulated vs. unregulated headwaters of Southern Calabria  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demetrio Antonio Zema ◽  
Giuseppe Bombino ◽  
Bruno Gianmarco Carrà ◽  
Daniela D'agostino ◽  
Pietro Denisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Hydrological Response ◽  
Check Dams ◽  
Hydrological Effects

<p>Surface runoff rates in torrents are driven by land use and climate changes. Moreover, the effects of control works, such as the check dams, can modify these rates. In the Mediterranean semi-arid watersheds (e.g., in Southern Italy and Spain), this forcing may sum to local factors, such as steep slopes, small drainage areas and heavy and short-duration rainstorms. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the hydrological effects of each action (presence of check dam, land use changes and future climate forcing), in order to control flash floods, soil erosion and landslides at the watershed scale. To this aim, this study evaluates the annual runoff rates in two headwaters of Southern Italy, mainly forested and agricultural, using a modeling approach. More specifically, the well-known Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is applied to Vacale (12.5 sq. km) torrent, regulated by check dams built in ‘1950-1960, and Serra torrent (13.7 sq. km), not regulated. Both sub-watersheds experienced an increase in forest cover up to 70%, while the agricultural land decreased by about 30% of the total area in the period after the construction of the control works until now. Previously, the model was calibrated in a third torrent (Duverso, 12.5 sq. km, gauged for runoff measurements), with the same climatic and geomorphological characteristics, using the automatic calibration by the SWATCUP program. After calibration, SWAT simulated the hydrological response under different land uses (forest, pasture and bare soil, the latter simulating total deforestation) and climate change scenarios (applying a Global Circulation Model, under 2.6 and 8.5 Representative Concentration Pathways) throughout the next 80 years. The results of this modeling experience showed that: (i) the presence of check dams noticeably reduced the hydrological response of the regulated headwater compared to the torrent without check dams; (ii) the vegetal cover of the forestland has been the most important factor in mitigating the surface runoff rate in comparison to the other land uses; (iii) under the future climate change scenarios, the surface runoff will increase with increasing mean temperatures and precipitation intensity. The model outputs help supporting a better understanding on the impacts of control works as well as land use and climate changes on the runoff generation capacity in Mediterranean torrents. These indications are useful to watershed managers in the adoption of the most effective strategy to mitigate flash flood hazards and heavy erosion risks in similar environmental contexts. </p><p>Acknowledgement: This research was funded by ERDF/Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities-State Research Agency (AEI) /Project CGL2017-84625-C2-1-R; State Program for Research, Development and Innovation Focused on the Challenges of Society.</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Uma Forma de Convivência com a Seca: Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Brígida - Pernambuco - Brasil (A Form of the Living with Drought: Brigida River Watershed-Pernambuco-Brasil)

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 724
Author(s):  
Alegnoberto Leite Fechine ◽  
Josiclêda Domiciano Galvíncio
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Vulnerable Area ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Northern Portion ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
Semi Arid

Mudanças no clima, provocada por aumento da temperatura, é uma realidade. Estudos recentes têm mostrado mudanças perceptíveis na temperatura, no regime de chuvas, nos recursos hídricos, no escoamento superficial e na agricultura; com consequências severas para as populações. Como água é mal distribuída e com a intensificação das secas a situação se agravará cada vez mais, chegando a um ponto de famílias inteiras migrarem para outras áreas. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste escopo é expor e analisar as diversas formas de convivências com a variabilidade do clima na bacia hidrográfica do rio Brígida.A área em análise possui clima semiárido e está localizada no Nordeste do Brasil, estado de Pernambuco. De acordo com o estudo a área mais vulnerável da bacia é a porção sul, onde o uso da terra se dá de forma desorganizada e despreparada. Já a porção norte é a menos vulnerável, pois, é mais propicia a receber maiores valores de precipitação. Sendo assim, a convivência com as mudanças do clima a exemplo: captação de água da chuva e a agroecologia são opções necessárias.A B S T R A C T - Changes in climate caused by increasing temperature, is a reality. Recent studies have shown noticeable changes in temperature, rainfall patterns, water resources, surface runoff and agriculture; with severe consequences for the populations. As water is poorly distributed and the intensification of droughts will worsen the situation increasingly, reaching a point of entire families migrate to other areas. Therefore, the aim of this scope is to expose and analyze the various forms of cohabitation with climate variability in the basin of river Bridget. The area in question has semi-arid climate and is located in the northeast of Brazil, Pernambuco state. According to the study the most vulnerable area of the basin is the southern portion, where the land use occurs in a disorganized and unprepared shape. Already the northern portion is less vulnerable because it is most facilitates receive larger amounts of precipitation. Thus, the interaction with the climate changes such: capturing rainwater and agroecology options are necessary. Keywords: coexistence, capture rainwater, semiarid. 

scholarly journals Effect of land use/land cover and climate changes on surface runoff in a semi-humid and semi-arid transition zone in Northwest China

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Yin ◽  
Fan He ◽  
YuJiu Xiong ◽  
GuoYu Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Water resources, which are substantially affected by land use/land cover (LULC) and climate changes, are a key limiting factor for ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions exhibiting high vulnerability. It is crucial to assess the impact of LULC and climate changes on water resources in these areas. However, conflicting results on the effect of the LULC and climate changes on runoff have been reported for relatively large basins, e.g., in the Jinghe River Basin (JRB), a typical large catchment (> 45000 km2) located in a semi-humid and arid transition zone on the central Loess Plateau, Northwest China. In this study, we focused on quantifying both the combined and isolated impacts of LULC and climate changes on surface runoff. It is hypothesized that under climatic warming and drying conditions, LULC change, which is primarily caused by intensive human activities, such as the conversion of cropland to forest and grassland program (CCFGP), will alter runoff markedly in the JRB. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was adopted to perform simulations. The simulated results indicated that although runoff increased very little between the 1970s and the 2000s due to the combined effects of LULC and climate changes, LULC and climate changes affected surface runoff differently in each decade, i.e., runoff increased with elevated precipitation between the 1970s and the 1980s (precipitation contributed 88 % to the increased runoff). Thereafter, runoff decreased and became increasingly influenced by LULC change, with a 44 % contribution between the 1980s and the 1990s and a 71 % contribution between the 1990s and the 2000s. Our findings revealed that large-scale LULC under the CCFGP since the late 1990s has had an important effect on the hydrological cycle and that the conflicting findings on the effect of the LULC and climate changes on runoff in relatively large basins are likely caused by uncertainty in hydrological simulations.

scholarly journals Effects of land use/land cover and climate changes on surface runoff in a semi-humid and semi-arid transition zone in northwest China

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Yin ◽  
Fan He ◽  
Yu Jiu Xiong ◽  
Guo Yu Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Grain For Green ◽  
Runoff Changes ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Water resources, which are considerably affected by land use/land cover (LULC) and climate changes, are a key limiting factor in highly vulnerable ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions. The impacts of LULC and climate changes on water resources must be assessed in these areas. However, conflicting results regarding the effects of LULC and climate changes on runoff have been reported in relatively large basins, such as the Jinghe River basin (JRB), which is a typical catchment (> 45 000 km2) located in a semi-humid and arid transition zone on the central Loess Plateau, northwest China. In this study, we focused on quantifying both the combined and isolated impacts of LULC and climate changes on surface runoff. We hypothesized that under climatic warming and drying conditions, LULC changes, which are primarily caused by intensive human activities such as the Grain for Green Program, will considerably alter runoff in the JRB. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was adopted to perform simulations. The simulated results indicated that although runoff increased very little between the 1970s and the 2000s due to the combined effects of LULC and climate changes, LULC and climate changes affected surface runoff differently in each decade, e.g., runoff increased with increased precipitation between the 1970s and the 1980s (precipitation contributed to 88 % of the runoff increase). Thereafter, runoff decreased and was increasingly influenced by LULC changes, which contributed to 44 % of the runoff changes between the 1980s and 1990s and 71 % of the runoff changes between the 1990s and 2000s. Our findings revealed that large-scale LULC under the Grain for Green Program has had an important effect on the hydrological cycle since the late 1990s. Additionally, the conflicting findings regarding the effects of LULC and climate changes on runoff in relatively large basins are likely caused by uncertainties in hydrological simulations.

scholarly journals Investigating impact of land-use and land cover changes on hydro-ecological balance using GIS: insights from IIT Bombay, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aman Srivastava ◽  
Pennan Chinnasamy
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Ecological Stability ◽  
Barren Land ◽  
Ecological Balance ◽  
Lulc Changes

AbstractThe present study, for the first time, examined land-use land cover (LULC), changes using GIS, between 2000 and 2018 for the IIT Bombay campus, India. Objective was to evaluate hydro-ecological balance inside campus by determining spatio-temporal disparity between hydrological parameters (rainfall-runoff processes), ecological components (forest, vegetation, lake, barren land), and anthropogenic stressors (urbanization and encroachments). High-resolution satellite imageries were generated for the campus using Google Earth Pro, by manual supervised classification method. Rainfall patterns were studied using secondary data sources, and surface runoff was estimated using SCS-CN method. Additionally, reconnaissance surveys, ground-truthing, and qualitative investigations were conducted to validate LULC changes and hydro-ecological stability. LULC of 2018 showed forest, having an area cover of 52%, as the most dominating land use followed by built-up (43%). Results indicated that the area under built-up increased by 40% and playground by 7%. Despite rapid construction activities, forest cover and Powai lake remained unaffected. This anomaly was attributed to the drastically declining barren land area (up to ~ 98%) encompassing additional construction activities. Sustainability of the campus was demonstrated with appropriate measures undertaken to mitigate negative consequences of unwarranted floods owing to the rise of 6% in the forest cover and a decline of 21% in water hyacinth cover over Powai lake. Due to this, surface runoff (~ 61% of the rainfall) was observed approximately consistent and being managed appropriately despite major alterations in the LULC. Study concluded that systematic campus design with effective implementation of green initiatives can maintain a hydro-ecological balance without distressing the environmental services.

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