scholarly journals Response of Water Balance Components to Changes in Soil Use and Vegetation Cover Over Three Decades in the Eastern Amazon

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Oliveira da Silva-Júnior ◽  
Pedro Walfir Martins e Souza-Filho ◽  
Gabriel Negreiros Salomão ◽  
Alexandra Lima Tavares ◽  
Jorge Filipe dos Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Water Storage Capacity ◽  
Control Factors ◽  
Additional Water ◽  
Pasture Area

Impacts on global water resources may be intensifying due to the growing and differentiated forms of land use and occupation, which influence the water cycle and thus the maintenance of life. In the Amazon, the effect may be even worse, as it is one of the world's most vulnerable regions to these changes. This work aimed to analyze the response of the components of the water balance to changes in land use and cover in the Eastern Amazon over three decades (1980–2013). First, soil texture maps were prepared. These combined with the classes of use in each decade let us estimate the values of storage and variation in storage (ΔS) of water in the soil. The behavior of the components of the water balance [precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, actual evapotranspiration (E), and ΔS] were analyzed according to the Budyko model on the annual scale as a function of the aridity and evaporative indices. For the seasonal scale, a new parameter (y0) was introduced to explicitly represent the additional water available for E, in addition to instantaneous precipitation. The seasonality of the rains and the seasonal dynamics of storage were directly incorporated into the model developed, which allowed us to understand what the dominant control factors of water balance are. In the decade from 2000 to 2009, the remaining forest cover is only 48.91%, while the cover formed by pasture is 50.47%, meaning the water storage capacity in the soil decreased 8.1%. In the 1990s, to 1999, precipitation shows a reduction, probably as a reflection of the very strong events of La Niña and El Niño (1988–1989 and 1997–1998). Observing the sum of the surface area of water bodies in the region and the relationship of forest vs. pasture, it is possible to infer that the elevation in evapotranspiration is more related to the increase in evaporation due to the increase in the pasture area than to the reduction transpiration due to forest loss, reinforcing the hypothesis that evapotranspiration increases with pasture area.

scholarly journals Biomass Burning and Water Balance Dynamics in the Lake Chad Basin in Africa

Earth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-356
Author(s):  
Forrest W. Black ◽  
Jejung Lee ◽  
Charles M. Ichoku ◽  
Luke Ellison ◽  
Charles K. Gatebe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Lake Chad ◽  
Chad Basin ◽  
Lake Chad Basin ◽  
Logone Catchment

The present study investigated the effect of biomass burning on the water cycle using a case study of the Chari–Logone Catchment of the Lake Chad Basin (LCB). The Chari–Logone catchment was selected because it supplies over 90% of the water input to the lake, which is the largest basin in central Africa. Two water balance simulations, one considering burning and one without, were compared from the years 2003 to 2011. For a more comprehensive assessment of the effects of burning, albedo change, which has been shown to have a significant impact on a number of environmental factors, was used as a model input for calculating potential evapotranspiration (ET). Analysis of the burning scenario showed that burning grassland, which comprises almost 75% of the total Chari–Logone land cover, causes increased ET and runoff during the dry season (November–March). Recent studies have demonstrated that there is an increasing trend in the LCB of converting shrubland, grassland, and wetlands to cropland. This change from grassland to cropland has the potential to decrease the amount of water available to water bodies during the winter. All vegetative classes in a burning scenario showed a decrease in ET during the wet season. Although a decrease in annual precipitation in global circulation processes such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation would cause droughts and induce wildfires in the Sahel, the present study shows that a decrease in ET by the human-induced burning would cause a severe decrease in precipitation as well.

scholarly journals Afforestation of Degraded Croplands as a Water-Saving Option in Irrigated Region of the Aral Sea Basin

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1433
Author(s):  
Navneet Kumar ◽  
Asia Khamzina ◽  
Patrick Knöfel ◽  
John P. A. Lamers ◽  
Bernhard Tischbein
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Trade Offs

Climate change is likely to decrease surface water availability in Central Asia, thereby necessitating land use adaptations in irrigated regions. The introduction of trees to marginally productive croplands with shallow groundwater was suggested for irrigation water-saving and improving the land’s productivity. Considering the possible trade-offs with water availability in large-scale afforestation, our study predicted the impacts on water balance components in the lower reaches of the Amudarya River to facilitate afforestation planning using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The land-use scenarios used for modeling analysis considered the afforestation of 62% and 100% of marginally productive croplands under average and low irrigation water supply identified from historical land-use maps. The results indicate a dramatic decrease in the examined water balance components in all afforestation scenarios based largely on the reduced irrigation demand of trees compared to the main crops. Specifically, replacing current crops (mostly cotton) with trees on all marginal land (approximately 663 km2) in the study region with an average water availability would save 1037 mln m3 of gross irrigation input within the study region and lower the annual drainage discharge by 504 mln m3. These effects have a considerable potential to support irrigation water management and enhance drainage functions in adapting to future water supply limitations.

scholarly journals Impacts of deforestation on water balance components of a watershed on the Brazilian East Coast

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 1350-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donizete dos Reis Pereira ◽  
André Quintão de Almeida ◽  
Mauro Aparecido Martinez ◽  
David Rafael Quintão Rosa
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Efficiency Coefficient ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
The Real ◽  
Calibration And Validation ◽  
Creek Watershed

The Brazilian East coast was intensely affected by deforestation, which drastically cut back the original biome. The possible impacts of this process on water resources are still unknown. The purpose of this study was an evaluation of the impacts of deforestation on the main water balance components of the Galo creek watershed, in the State of Espírito Santo, on the East coast of Brazil. Considering the real conditions of the watershed, the SWAT model was calibrated with data from 1997 to 2000 and validated for the period between 2001 and 2003. The calibration and validation processes were evaluated by the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient and by the statistical parameters (determination coefficient, slope coefficient and F test) of the regression model adjusted for estimated and measured flow data. After calibration and validation of the model, new simulations were carried out for three different land use scenarios: a scenario in compliance with the law (C1), assuming the preservation of PPAs (permanent preservation areas); an optimistic scenario (C2), which considers the watershed to be almost entirely covered by native vegetation; and a pessimistic scenario (C3), in which the watershed would be almost entirely covered by pasture. The scenarios C1, C2 and C3 represent a soil cover of native forest of 76, 97 and 0 %, respectively. The results were compared with the simulation, considering the real scenario (C0) with 54 % forest cover. The Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients were 0.65 and 0.70 for calibration and validation, respectively, indicating satisfactory results in the flow simulation. A mean reduction of 10 % of the native forest cover would cause a mean annual increase of approximately 11.5 mm in total runoff at the watershed outlet. Reforestation would ensure minimum flows in the dry period and regulate the maximum flow of the main watercourse of the watershed.

scholarly journals GEO-CWB: GIS-Based Algorithms for Parametrising the Responses of Catchment Dynamic Water Balance Regarding Climate and Land Use Changes

Hydrology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salem S. Gharbia ◽  
Laurence Gill ◽  
Paul Johnston ◽  
Francesco Pilla
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
Hydrological System

Parametrising the spatially distributed dynamic catchment water balance is a critical factor in studying the hydrological system responses to climate and land use changes. This study presents the development of a geographic information system (GIS)-based set of algorithms (geographical spatially distributed water balance model (GEO-CWB)), which is developed from integrating physical, statistical, and machine learning models. The GEO-CWB tool has been developed to simulate and predict future spatially distributed dynamic water balance using GIS environment at the catchment scale in response to the future changes in climate variables and land use through a user-friendly interface. The tool helps in bridging the gap in quantifying the high-resolution dynamic water balance components for the large catchments by reducing the computational costs. Also, this paper presents the application and validation of GEO-CWB on the Shannon catchment in Ireland as an example of a large and complicated hydrological system. It can be concluded that climate and land use changes have significant effects on the spatial and temporal patterns of the different water balance components of the catchment.

scholarly journals Linking Climate, Basin Morphology and Vegetation Characteristics to Fu’s Parameter in Data Poor Conditions

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Ruggiu ◽  
Francesco Viola
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Computational Effort ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Water Partitioning

The prediction of long term water balance components is not a trivial issue, even when empirical Budyko’s type approaches are used, because parameter estimation is often hampered by missing or poor hydrological data. In order to overcome this issue, we provided regression equations that link climate, morphological, and vegetation parameters to Fu’s parameter. Climate is here defined as a specific seasonal pattern of potential evapotranspiration and rain: five climatic scenarios have been considered to mimic different conditions worldwide. A weather generator has been used to create stochastic time series for the related climatic scenario, which in turn has been used as an input to a conceptual hydrological model to obtain long-term water balance components with low computational effort, while preserving fundamental process descriptions. The morphology and vegetation’s role in determining water partitioning process has been epitomized in four parameters of the conceptual model. Numerical simulations explored a large set of basins in the five climates. Results show that climate superimposes partitioning rules for a given basin; morphological and vegetation watershed properties, as conceptualized by model parameters, determine the Fu’s parameter within a given climate. A sensitive analysis confirmed that vegetation has the most influencing role in determining water partitioning rules, followed by soil permeability. Finally, linear regressions relating basin characteristics to Fu’s parameter have been obtained in the five climates and tested in a basin for each case, obtaining encouraging results. The small amount of data required and the very low computational effort of the method make this approach ideal for practitioners and hydrologists involved in annual runoff assessment.

scholarly journals Impact of Arable Land to Grassland Conversion on the Vegetation-period Water Balance of a Small Agricultural Catchment (Němčický Stream)

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 128-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Kovář ◽  
D. Vaššová
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Vegetation Period ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Total Runoff ◽  
Grassland Conversion ◽  
Pronounced Reduction

This paper presents results of decadal (10-day) water balance simulations for the vegetation periods (April to October) of 2001 (normal year), 2002 (wet year) and 2003 (dry year) in the Němčick&yacute; Stream experimental catchment (3.52 km<sup>2</sup>). The catchment is a typical agricultural area with a large extent of arable land. This paper shows that the model used (WBCM) is capable of reliably simulating decadal water balance components for the actual land use. The same model is then used to estimate water balance changes brought about when 10% of arable land has been transformed into permanent grassland. It is shown that this land use change results in a pronounced reduction of surface runoff and an increase in subsurface storage over the vegetation periods of all three years. The vegetation period groundwater runoff was only enhanced in the wet year, while the total runoff was reduced in all three years.&nbsp;

Determination of growing season soil water deficits on a forested slope using water balance analysis

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Giles ◽  
T. A. Black ◽  
D. L. Spittlehouse
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Soil Water Retention ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Water Deficits ◽  
Water Storage Capacity ◽  
Zone Depth

Coefficients for the calculation of soil water balance components at seven sites on a forested slope were determined using only measurements of daily solar irradiance, maximum and minimum air temperature and rainfall, and weekly root zone soil water content during a 2-year period. Site parameters required were root zone depth, soil water retention characteristics, and rainfall interception coefficients. Based on daytime net radiation, the Priestley–Taylor evapotranspiration coefficient (α) was found to be 0.73 ± 0.07, which is similar to values reported in other conifer forest studies. Growing season water deficit increased with decreasing root zone water storage capacity, which was mainly a function of root zone depth. A comparison between high and low elevations on the slope showed 100-year site indices ranging from 17 to 53 m corresponding to growing season soil water deficits during the driest year of the study, ranging from 79 to 4 mm. Basal area annual increments were found to be correlated with soil water deficits and growing season transpiration, both for the study period and when both variables were averaged over the last 18 years.

scholarly journals Forecasting land-use change and its impact on the groundwater system of the Kleine Nete catchment, Belgium

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 4265-4295 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Dams ◽  
S. T. Woldeamlak ◽  
O. Batelaan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Groundwater Model ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Groundwater System ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Land-use change and climate change, along with groundwater pumping are frequently indicated to be the main human-induced factors influencing the groundwater system. Up till now, research has mainly been focusing on the effect of the water quality of these human-induced changes on the groundwater system, often neglecting changes in quantity. The focus in this study is on the impact of land-use changes in the near future, from 2000 until 2020, on the groundwater quantity and the general hydrologic balance of a sub-catchment of the Kleine Nete, Belgium. This study tests a new methodology which involves coupling a land-use change model with a water balance model and a groundwater model. The future land-use is modelled with the CLUE-S model. Four scenarios (A1, A2, B1 and B2) based on the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) are used for the land-use modelling. Water balance components, groundwater level and baseflow are simulated using the WetSpass model in conjunction with a MODFLOW groundwater model. Results show that the average recharge slowly decreases for all scenarios, the decreases are 2.9, 1.6, 1.8 and 0.8% for respectively scenario A1, A2, B1 and B2. The predicted reduction in recharge results in a small decrease of the average groundwater level, ranging from 2.5 cm for scenario A1 to 0.9 cm for scenario B2, and a reduction of the total baseflow with maximum 2.3% and minimum 0.7% respectively for scenario A1 and B2. Although these average values do not indicate significant changes for the groundwater system, spatial analysis of the changes shows the changes are concentrated in the neighbourhood of the major cities in the study areas. It is therefore important for spatial managers to take the groundwater system into account for reducing the negative impacts of land-use and climate change as much as possible.

scholarly journals Trends and variability of water balance components over a tropical savanna and Eucalyptus forest in Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinhong Kang ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Warrick Dawes
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Annual Runoff ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Eucalyptus Forest ◽  
The Waves

Abstract In this paper, the long-term dynamics of water balance components in two different contrasting ecosystems in Australia were simulated with an ecohydrological model (WAter Vegetation Energy and Solute modelling (WAVES)) over the period 1950–2015. The selected two ecosystems are woodland savanna in Daly River and Eucalyptus forest in Tumbarumba. The WAVES model was first manually calibrated and validated against soil water content measured by cosmic-ray probe and evapotranspiration measured with eddy flux techniques. The calibrated model was then used to simulate long-term water balance components with observed climate data at two sites. Analyzing the trends and variabilities of potential evapotranspiration and precipitation is used to interpret the climate change impacts on ecosystem water balance. The results showed that the WAVES model can accurately simulate soil water content and evapotranspiration at two study sites. Over the period of 1950–2015, annual evapotranspiration at both sites showed decreasing trends (−1.988 mm year−1 in Daly and −0.381 mm year−1 in Tumbarumba), whereas annual runoff in Daly increased significantly (5.870 mm year−1) and decreased in Tumbarumba (–0.886 mm year−1). It can be concluded that the annual runoff trends are consistent with the rainfall trends, whereas trends in annual evapotranspiration are influenced by both rainfall and potential evapotranspiration. The results can provide evidence for controlling the impacting factors for different ecosystems under climate change.

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