scholarly journals Assessment of Environmental Water Security of an Asian Deltaic Megacity and Its Peri-Urban Wetland Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2772
Author(s):  
Subham Mukherjee ◽  
Pradip Kumar Sikdar ◽  
Sukdeb Pal ◽  
Brigitta Schütt
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Wetlands ◽  
Ambient Water ◽  
Monsoon Period ◽  
Urban Wetland

Achieving urban water security requires sustaining the trade-offs between the exploitation of water/environmental resources and ecosystem services. This achievement not only reduces the pollution and contamination in the environment, level of water stress, but also secures good ambient water quality and future for people’s well-being and livelihoods. Changes in land use and land cover and growth of impervious structures can immediately generate severe ecological and social issues and increase the level of natural or manmade risks, affecting the condition of ecosystem services within and in the vicinity of an urban region. As a result of these transformations and further exploitation, due to the growing anthropogenic pressure, surface water and groundwater quality can be deteriorated compared to ambient water quality standards (for both chemical and biological pollutants). Based on land use and land cover (LULC) data retrieved from remote sensing interpretation, we computed the changes of the ecosystem service values (ESV) associated with the LULC dynamics, water quality and, finally, urban water security during the pre- and post-monsoon periods of 2009, 2014 and 2019 in Kolkata, an Asian deltaic megacity, and its peri-urban wetlands named East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). The area under wetlands reduced comprehensively in 2009–2019 due to the conversion of wetlands into various other classes such as urban settlement, etc. The quality of surface water bodies (such as rivers, lakes, canals and inland wetlands) deteriorated. The groundwater quality is still under control, but the presence of arsenic, manganese and other metals are a clear indication of urban expansion and related activities in the area. As a result, there was a change in the ESV during this timeframe. In the pre-monsoon period, there was an increase in total ESV from US$53.14 million in 2009 to US$53.36 million and US$59.01 million in 2014 and 2019, respectively. In the post-monsoon period, the ESV decreased from US$67.42 million in 2009 to US$64.13 and US$61.89 million in 2014 and 2019, respectively. These changes can be attributed to the peri-urban wetlands and the benefits or services arising out of them that contribute more than 50% of the total ESV. This study found that the area under wetlands has reduced comprehensively in the past 10 years due to the conversion of wetlands for various other uses such as urban expansion of the Kolkata City, but still, this peri-urban wetland supports the urban water security by providing sufficient ecosystem services. In conclusion, the transformation in extent of the water-related ecosystem is a crucial indicator of urban water security, which also measures the quantity of water contained in various water-related ecosystems. Quantitative analysis of the LULC change, hence, is important for studying the corresponding impact on the ecosystem service value (ESV) and water quality that helps in decision-making in securing urban water future and ecosystem conservation.

scholarly journals Landscape Evolution and It’s Impact of Ecosystem Service Value of the Wuhan City, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 13015
Author(s):  
Ru Chen ◽  
Chunbo Huang
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Wuhan City ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
The Impact

Rapid urbanization and industrialization and enhanced ecological protection measures have greatly influenced landscape change, which has exacerbated regional landscape competition and conflicts and indirectly affected the supply of ecosystem services. Clarifying the relationship between ecosystem service change and landscape change is useful for understanding the impact of ecosystem conversion on socio-economic development and providing a knowledge base for relevant policy decisions. In this study, we used remote sensing technology to process Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI imageries, combined with transformation analysis and kernel density analysis to study the spatial and temporal characteristics of land use change in Wuhan City from 1980 to 2020. We also estimated the ESV in the region using the improved unit area value equivalent method to reveal the trends of ESV changes in Wuhan. The results showed that land use changes in Wuhan during 1980–2020 occurred mainly in terms of decreases in farmland, forestland, and bare land, as well as increases in built-up land and water bodies. The built-up land was mainly concentrated in the main urban areas, but its area in each suburban area has increased in recent years. In contrast, farmland was mainly distributed in suburban areas, and its area has been decreasing in recent years due to the impact of urban expansion. However, the reduction is compensated for by the reclamation of ecological land such as grassland and forestland, which has aggravated the loss of ecosystem service values in the study area. In addition, human activities such as urban expansion have increased the demand for water resources, while also leading to ecological problems such as water scarcity and water quality degradation, which have caused serious losses to key ecosystem services in Wuhan city. Therefore, in order to alleviate the competition and conflicts in the landscape and mitigate the loss of ecosystem service values in this area, we have proposed some constructive suggestions for future urban planning and water quality improvements in Wuhan. The focus of these suggestions is on controlling the expansion of built-up land, as well as the conservation of ecological land and resource protection. Meanwhile, our findings can also provide reference information for land resource planning and ecological monitoring, and help researchers to understand the contribution of ecosystem service functions in relation to socio-economic development.

Ecosystem Services for Urban Water Security

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blal Adem Esmail ◽  
Davide Geneletti
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Urban Water

scholarly journals Comparative Assessment 0f Water Quality in the Bagmati River Basin, Nepal

ZOO-Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 68-78
Author(s):  
Chadka B Pal ◽  
Ramesh R Pant ◽  
Bhagawat Rimal ◽  
Akkal D Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Waste Water Treatment ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Monsoon Period ◽  
Bagmati River

Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal is one of the most populated destinations of the country. The water pollution remains a challenging issue for the sustainable development in the valley despite several pollution control devices, awareness-raising and policy measures. During monsoon period 2018, surface water samples were collected from 10 sites of the Bagmati River and its tributaries within the valley to evaluate the water quality. The different physico-chemical parameters were determined to assess pollution along a 26.5 km stretch between Sundarijal Dam to Balkhu Bridge of the Bagmati River and its selected tributaries. The Electrical Conductivity (EC) ranged from 33-816μS/cm while turbidity ranged from 0.3- 981 NTU and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) ranged from 16 to 612 mg/l. The ionic concentrations were higher in the lower sections where the population density is high compared to the head waters. The high value of TDS and low value of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in the lower belts of rivers were due to large inputs of waste water, uncoordinated rapid urban expansion, inadequate waste water treatment facilities and organic loads caused by anthropogenic activities. A comparative study for the water quality variables in the urban areas showed that the main river and its tributaries were equally polluted. From water analysis, downstream sites showed contamination and comparatively polluted among the tributaries and Bagmati River. There is a need to take action plan against polluted site for sustainability of aquatic health of the riverine environment and to address the river for its longer life both by public and government sectors.

scholarly journals An Overview of the Impacts of Land Use Land Cover Changes (1980–2014) on Urban Water Security of Kolkata

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subham Mukherjee ◽  
Wiebke Bebermeier ◽  
Brigitta Schütt
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
The City ◽  
Water Issues ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

Urban Water Security is essential in urban planning to manage cities’ water infrastructures and strengthen their water stress resilience and adaptive capacities. Decision making, governance and socio-economic factors play important roles in achieving Urban Water Security. Kolkata is a growing megacity in a developing country, which is facing rising pressures on water-environmental provisions due to the rapid population growth and urbanization and resultant governance and infrastructural issues. This review focusses on Kolkata, which is facing critical water issues, as a case study. The study presents an overview of the urban water (in)security and its dimensions in Kolkata city, such as water consumption and distribution in the city along with the changing land use-land cover of the city area, based on the results obtained from the satellite data-based land use-land cover classification, available literature, and documents from public institutions.

scholarly journals Effects of forest expansion and land abandonment on ecosystem services of alpine environments: case study in Ledro valley (Italy) for the period 1859-2011

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 875-884 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Profit Maximization ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Forest Expansion ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

<p>During the last century, the European Alps have faced intense socio-economic changes, which have led to respective land-use changes with immediate impact on ecosystem services (ESs). The aim of the study is to present the land-use changes and their effects on the economical contribution of ESs in the alpine environment of Ledro Valley, in Northern Italy. Data were collected through historical cartography and photographic material from 1859, 1973 and 2011. The analysis of landscape evolution highlighted the forest expansion, and partially the urban expansion, at the expense of grasslands and croplands due to a transition from a rural to a touristic and handcrafting economy. The land-use changes led to an overall reduction of the economical contribution of ESs, while further analysis on individual services identified advantages and disadvantages caused by the re-naturalization process of forest expansion. The results suggested that the profit maximization of ESs under the pressure of such land-use changes can be achieved by a) a respective profit maximization from services related to recreation activities (tourism) which have an immediate economical impact on local economies and b) the maintenance and sustainable management of the typical rural landscape and grasslands in order to preserve some of their economical benefits.</p>

The impact of two decades of land-use changes in potential ecosystem services supply in a Portuguese municipality - Coimbra

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inês Amorim Leitão ◽  
Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira ◽  
António José Dinis Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Potential ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Land-use changes affect the properties of ecosystems, and are typically associated with decreasing ability to supply services, which in turn causes a decrease in the social well-being. Urbanization is identified as one of the main causes of ecosystem degradation, once it is considered an artificial space that replaces natural areas.This study investigates the impact of land-use changes during 20 years (1995-2015) on the potential supply of ecosystem services in Coimbra municipality, central Portugal. The assessment was based on the evaluation performed by 31 experts familiar with the study area, through questionnaires. The experts ranked the potential supply of 31 ecosystem services, grouped in regulation, provisioning and cultural services, for the several land-uses existent. Experts performed a qualitative evaluation, considering &amp;#8216;strong adverse potential&amp;#8217;, &amp;#8216;weak adverse potential&amp;#8217;, &amp;#8216;not relevant&amp;#8217;, &amp;#8216;low positive potential&amp;#8217; and &amp;#8216;strong positive potential&amp;#8217;. The qualitative evaluation was converted into a quantitative classification (-2, -1, 0, 1, 2). Quantitative values were then used to develop an ecosystem services quantification matrix and to map the information in the study area, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). An urban expansion from 14% to 18% was recorded over the last 20 years. Agricultural land decreased 8% due to conversion into forest (4% increase) and urban areas (4% increase). This has led to a decrease in the supply of provision (e.g. food) and regulation services (e.g. flood regulation). In fact, over the last years, recurrent floods have been increasingly noticed in Coimbra city. On the other hand, the growth of forest areas has led to an increase in general ESs supply. The adverse impacts of urbanization were partially compensated by enlarging the benefits provided by forest areas, which is the land-use with greatest ESs potential supply. In order to support urban planning and develop sustainable cities, it is essential to quantify the potential supply of ecosystem services considering local scale and characteristics.&lt;/p&gt;

The impact of land use change, climate change and reservoir construction on ecosystem services in a Mediterranean catchment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joris Eekhout ◽  
Carolina Boix-Fayos ◽  
Pedro Pérez-Cutillas ◽  
Joris de Vente
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Reservoir Construction ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;The Mediterranean region has been identified as one of the most affected global hot-spots for climate change. Recent climate change in the Mediterranean can be characterized by faster increasing temperatures than the global mean and significant decreases in annual precipitation. Besides, important land cover changes have occurred, such as reforestation, agricultural intensification, urban expansion and the construction of many reservoirs, mainly with the purpose to store water for irrigation. Here we study the impacts of these changes on several ecosystem services in the Segura River catchment, a typical large Mediterranean catchment where many of the before mentioned changes have occurred in the last half century. We applied a hydrological model, coupled with a soil erosion and sediment transport model, to study the impact of climate and land cover change and reservoir construction on ecosystem services for the period 1971-2010. Eight ecosystem services indicators were defined, which include runoff, plant water stress, hillslope erosion, reservoir sediment yield, sediment concentration, reservoir storage, flood discharge and low flow. To assess larger land use changes, we also applied the model for an extended period (1952-2018) to the Taibilla subcatchment, a typical Mediterranean mountainous subcatchment, which plays an important role in the provision of water within the Segura River catchment. As main results we observed that climate change in the evaluated period is characterized by a decrease in precipitation and an increase in temperature. Detected land use change over the past 50 years is typical for many Mediterranean catchments. Natural vegetation in the headwaters increased due to agricultural land abandonment. Agriculture expanded in the central part of the catchment, which most likely is related to the construction of reservoirs in the same area. The downstream part of the catchment is characterized by urban expansion. While land use changed in more than 30% of the catchment, most impact on ecosystem services can be attributed to climate change and reservoir construction. All these changes have had positive and negative impacts on ecosystem services. The positive impacts include a decrease in hillslope erosion, sediment yield, sediment concentration and flood discharge (-21%, -18%, -82% and -41%, respectively). The negative impacts include an increase in plant water stress (+5%) and a decrease in reservoir storage (-5%). The decrease in low flow caused by land use change was counteracted by an increase in low flow due to reservoir construction. The results of our study highlight how relatively small climate and land use changes compared to the changes foreseen for the coming decades, have had an important impact on ecosystem services over the past 50 years.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Linking Social Perception and Provision of Ecosystem Services in a Sprawling Urban Landscape: A Case Study of Multan, Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Manzoor ◽  
Aisha Malik ◽  
Muhammad Zubair ◽  
Geoffrey Griffiths ◽  
Martin Lukac
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Arid Zones

Urban sprawl causes changes in land use and a decline in many ecosystem services. Understanding the spatial patterns of sprawl and exploration of citizens’ perception towards the sporadic urban expansion and its impacts on an ecosystem to deliver services can help to guide land use planning and the conservation of the urban ecosystem. Here, we spatially examined land use changes in Multan, Pakistan, and investigated public perception about urban sprawl and its impacts on the quality and provision of ecosystem services, using a survey instrument. The spatial analysis of the historical land cover of Multan indicated an exponential expansion of the city in the last decade. Large areas of natural vegetation and agricultural land were converted to urban settlements in the past two decades. The citizens of Multan believe that the quality and provision of ecosystem services have declined in the recent past and strongly correlate the deteriorating ecosystem services with urban sprawl. Education and income levels of the respondents are the strongest predictors of urban ecosystem health literacy. Citizens associated with laborious outdoor jobs are more sensitive to the changes in ecosystem services. We concluded that the rapidly expanding cities, especially in the tropical arid zones, need to be prioritized for an increase in vegetation cover, and economically vulnerable settlements in these cities should be emphasized in climate change mitigation campaigns.

scholarly journals Uncovering Ecosystem Services of Expropriated Land: The Case of Urban Expansion in Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Wubante Fetene Admasu ◽  
Annelies Boerema ◽  
Jan Nyssen ◽  
Amare Sewnet Minale ◽  
Enyew Adgo Tsegaye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Northwest Ethiopia ◽  
Bahir Dar ◽  
Community Perception ◽  
Land Expropriation ◽  
Land Use Decisions ◽  
Land Use Types

In Ethiopia, urban expansion happens at high rates and results in land expropriations often at the cost of agriculture and forests. The process of urban expansion does not include assessment of ecosystem services (ES). This has been causing unintended environmental problems. This study aims to uncover ES of three most important land use types (cropland, agroforestry, and grassland) that are threatened by land expropriation for urban expansion in Bahir Dar City. The study applied a participatory approach using community perception and expert judgments (N = 108). Respondents were asked to locate their perceptions on the use of 35 different ES, and then to evaluate the potential of the land use. Respondents were shown to have the ability to differentiate between ES and land use in terms of their potential to deliver ES. The results show that agroforestry is expected to have a high relevant potential to deliver 31% of all ES, but cropland 20% and grassland 14%. Food, fodder, timber, firewood, fresh water, energy, compost, climate regulation, erosion prevention, and water purification and treatment were identified as the ten most important services. It is not only the provisioning services that are being supplied by the land use types which are expropriated for urbanization, but also regulating, supporting and cultural services. To ensure sustainable urban land development, we suggest the consideration of the use of ES and the potential of the land use to supply ES when making land use decisions, including land expropriation for urban expansion.

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