Basin-Scale Approach to Integration of Agro- and Hydroecological Monitoring for Sustainable Environmental Management: A Case Study of Belgorod Oblast, European Russia

The quantitative and qualitative depletion of water resources (both surface and groundwater) is closely related to the need to protect soils against degradation, rationalization of land use, and regulation of surface water runoff within the watershed area. Belgorod Oblast (27,100 km2), one of the administrative regions of European Russia, was chosen as the study area. It is characterized by a high activity of soil erosion (the share of eroded soils is about 48% of the total area of arable land). The development phase of the River Basin Environmental Management Projects (217 river basins from the fourth to seventh order) allowed for the proceeding of the development of an integrated monitoring system for river systems and river basin systems. The methods used to establish a geoecological network for regional monitoring include the selection and application of GIS techniques to quantify the main indicators of ecological state and predisposition of river basins to soil erosion (the share of cropland and forestland, the share of the south-oriented slopes, soil erodibility, Slope Length and Steepness (LS) factor, erosion index of precipitation, and the river network density) and the method of a hierarchical classification of cluster analysis for the grouping of river basins. An approach considering the typology of river basins is also used to expand the regional network of hydrological gauging stations to rationalize the national hydrological monitoring network. By establishing 16 additional gauging stations on rivers from the fourth to seventh order, this approach allows for an increase in the area of hydro-agroecological monitoring by 1.26 times (i.e., up to 77.5% of the total area of Belgorod Oblast). Some integrated indicators of agroecological (on the watershed surface) and hydroecological (in river water flow) monitoring are proposed to improve basin environmental management projects. Six-year monitoring showed the effectiveness of water quality control measures on an example of a decrease in the concentrations of five major pollutants in river waters.

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Modeling the Impacts of Land Use Changes on Soil Erosion at the River Basin Scale

Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University ◽

10.5109/27370 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 377-387

Author(s):

Yanna Xiong ◽

Guoqiang Wang ◽

Yanguo Teng ◽

Kyoichi Otsuki

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

River Basin ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

River Basin Scale ◽

Basin Scale

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RUSLE Model based Assessment of Soil Erosion in Parbati River Basin, Central India using Google Earth Engine and GIS

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1524 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rohit Kumar ◽

Benidhar Deshmukh ◽

Kiran Sathunuri

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Spatial Pattern ◽

River Basin ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Google Earth ◽

Rusle Model ◽

High Soil ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Google Earth Engine

<p>Land degradation is a global concern posing significant threat to sustainable development. One of its major aspects is soil erosion, which is recognised as one of the critical geomorphic processes controlling sediment budget and landscape evolution. Natural rate of soil erosion is exacerbated due to anthropogenic activities that may lead to soil infertility. Therefore, assessment of soil erosion at basin scale is needed to understand its spatial pattern so as to effectively plan for soil conservation. This study focuses on Parbati river basin, a major north flowing cratonic river and a tributary of river Chambal to identify erosion prone areas using RUSLE model. Soil erodibility (K), Rainfall erosivity (R), and Topographic (LS) factors were derived from National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur (NBSS-LUP) soil maps, India Meteorological Department (IMD) datasets, and SRTM30m DEM, respectively in GIS environment. The crop management (C) and support practice (P) factors were calculated by assigning appropriate values to Land use /land cover (LULC) classes derived by random forest based supervised classification of Sentinel-2 level-1C satellite remote sensing data in Google Earth Engine platform. High and very high soil erosion were observed in NE and NW parts of the basin, respectively, which may be attributed to the presence of barren land, fallow areas and rugged topography. The result reveals that annual rate of soil loss for the Parbati river basin is ~319 tons/ha/yr (with the mean of 1.2 tons/ha/yr). Lowest rate of soil loss (i.e. ~36 tons/ha/yr with mean of 0.22 tons/ha/yr) has been observed in the open forest class whereas highest rate of soil loss (i.e. ~316 tons/ha/yr with mean of 32.08 tons/ha/yr) have been observed in gullied area class. The study indicates that gullied areas are contributing most to the high soil erosion rate in the basin. Further, the rate of soil loss in the gullied areas is much higher than the permissible value of 4.5&#8211;11 tons/ha/yr recognized for India. The study helps in understanding spatial pattern of soil loss in the study area and is therefore useful in identifying and prioritising erosion prone areas so as to plan for their conservation.</p>

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Assessment of uncertainties in soil erosion and sediment yield estiamtes at ungauged basins: an application to the Garra River basin, India

10.5194/hess-2017-383 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Somil Swarnkar ◽

Anshu Malini ◽

Shivam Tripathi ◽

Rajiv Sinha

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

River Basin ◽

Sediment Yield ◽

Uncertainty Propagation ◽

River Basins ◽

Large River ◽

Delivery Ratio ◽

Mountainous Region ◽

Ungauged Basins ◽

Sediment Delivery

Abstract. High soil erosion and excessive sediment load are serious problems in several Himalayan River basins. To apply mitigation procedures, precise estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield with associated uncertainties are needed. Here, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) equations are used to estimate the spatial pattern of soil erosion (SE) and sediment yield (SY) in the Garra River basin, a small Himalayan tributary of River Ganga. A methodology is proposed for quantifying and propagating uncertainties in SE, SDR and SY estimates. Expressions for uncertainty propagation are derived by first-order uncertainty analysis, making the method viable even for large river basins. The methodology is applied to investigate the relative importance of different RUSLE factors in estimating the magnitude and uncertainties of SE over two distinct morpho-climatic regimes of the Garra River basin, namely, upper mountainous region & lower alluvial plains. The results suggest that average SE in the basin falls in very high category (20.4 ± 4.1 t/ha/y) with higher values in the upper mountainous region (84.4 ± 13.9 t/ha/y) than in the lower alluvial plains (17.7 ± 3.6 t/ha/y). Furthermore, the topographic steepness (LS) and crop practice (CP) factors exhibit higher uncertainties than other RUSLE factors. The annual average SY is estimated at two locations in the basin – Nanak Sagar dam (NSD) for the period 1962–2008 and Husepur gauging station (HGS) for 1987–2002. The SY at NSD and HGS are estimated to be 8.0 ± 1.4 × 105 t/y and 7.9 ± 1.7 ×106 t/y, respectively, and the estimated 90 % confidence interval contains the observed values 6.4 × 105 t/y and 7.2 × 106 t/y. The study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed methodology for quantifying uncertainty in SE and SY estimates at ungauged basins.

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A New Indicator to Better Represent the Impact of Landscape Pattern Change on Basin Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield in the Upper Reach of Ganjiang, China

Land ◽

10.3390/land10090990 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 990

Author(s):

Yongfen Zhang ◽

Nong Wang ◽

Chongjun Tang ◽

Shiqiang Zhang ◽

Yuejun Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

River Basin ◽

Landscape Metrics ◽

Landscape Pattern ◽

Sediment Yield ◽

River Basins ◽

Landscape Patterns ◽

Soil Erodibility ◽

Land Use Pattern

Landscape patterns are a result of the combined action of natural and social factors. Quantifying the relationships between landscape pattern changes, soil erosion, and sediment yield in river basins can provide regulators with a foundation for decision-making. Many studies have investigated how land-use changes and the resulting landscape patterns affect soil erosion in river basins. However, studies examining the effects of terrain, rainfall, soil erodibility, and vegetation cover factors on soil erosion and sediment yield from a landscape pattern perspective remain limited. In this paper, the upper Ganjiang Basin was used as the study area, and the amount of soil erosion and the amount of sediment yield in this basin were first simulated using a hydrological model. The simulated values were then validated. On this basis, new landscape metrics were established through the addition of factors from the revised universal soil loss equation to the land-use pattern. Five combinations of landscape metrics were chosen, and the interactions between the landscape metrics in each combination and their effects on soil erosion and sediment yield in the river basin were examined. The results showed that there were highly similar correlations between the area metrics, between the fragmentation metrics, between the spatial structure metrics, and between the evenness metrics across all the combinations, while the correlations between the shape metrics in Combination 1 (only land use in each year) differed notably from those in the other combinations. The new landscape indicator established based on Combination 4, which integrated the land-use pattern and the terrain, soil erodibility, and rainfall erosivity factors, were the most significantly correlated with the soil erosion and sediment yield of the river basin. Finally, partial least-squares regression models for the soil erosion and sediment yield of the river basin were established based on the five landscape metrics with the highest variable importance in projection scores selected from Combination 4. The results of this study provide a simple approach for quantitatively assessing soil erosion in other river basins for which detailed observation data are lacking.

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Hydrological Variability and Changes in the Arctic Circumpolar Tundra and Its Largest Pan-Arctic river Basins from 2002 to 2016

10.20944/preprints201712.0049.v1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Kazuyoshi Suzuki ◽

Koji Matsuo ◽

Dai Yamazaki ◽

Kazuhito Ichii ◽

Yoshihiro Iijima ◽

...

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

River Basins ◽

The Arctic ◽

Lena River ◽

North American Continent ◽

The North ◽

Hydrological Variability ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Northern Regions ◽

Terrestrial Water

The Arctic freshwater budget is critical for understanding the climate in the northern regions. However, the hydrology of the Arctic circumpolar tundra region (ACTR) and the largest pan-Arctic rivers are still not well understood. In the present paper, we analyze the spatiotemporal variations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) of the ACTR, including three of its largest pan-Arctic river basins (Lena, Mackenzie, Yukon), using monthly Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data from 2002 to 2016. Together with global land reanalysis, river runoff, and inundation extent area (IEA) data, we identify declining TWS trends throughout the ACTR that we attribute largely to increasing evapotranspiration driven by increasing summer air temperatures. In terms of regional changes, large and significant negative trends in TWS are observed mainly over the North American continent. At basin scale, we show that, in the Lena River basin, the autumnal TWS signal persists until the winter of the following year, while in the Mackenzie River basin, the TWS levels in the autumn and winter has no significant impact on the following year. As global warming is expected to be particularly significant in the northern regions, our results are important for understanding future TWS trends, with possible further decline.

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Prediction of runoff pollutant load considering characteristics of river basin

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1996.0495 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 33 (4-5) ◽

pp. 117-126 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Atsushi Ichiki ◽

Kiyoshi Yamada ◽

Toshiyuki Ohnishi

Keyword(s):

Environmental Management ◽

Land Use ◽

River Basin ◽

River Basins ◽

Point Sources ◽

Pollutant Load ◽

Nonpoint Sources ◽

Macro Model ◽

Runoff Model ◽

Pollutant Runoff

The objectives of this study are to establish a runoff model and show profiles of pollutant runoff by simulating the change in runoff load with variance in the characteristics of river basins (i.e. population, urban area, rate of sewerage, etc.). The model, hereinafter referred to as “MACRO MODEL”, consists of three main sections. The first one shows pollutant runoff from point sources taking into consideration the sedimentation of pollutants in sewers. The second and third ones show pollutant runoff from nonpoint sources in an urban and rural area taking land use into consideration. Since it was proved that MACRO MODEL could simulate runoff load accurately enough to predict profiles of pollutant runoff, it has become possible to estimate the effect of characteristics of a river basin on pollutant runoff. As a result, some available knowledge concerned with the environmental management of water was obtained by using MACRO MODEL.

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Assessment of uncertainties in soil erosion and sediment yield estimates at ungauged basins: an application to the Garra River basin, India

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-22-2471-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 2471-2485 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Somil Swarnkar ◽

Anshu Malini ◽

Shivam Tripathi ◽

Rajiv Sinha

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

River Basin ◽

Sediment Yield ◽

Uncertainty Propagation ◽

River Basins ◽

Large River ◽

Delivery Ratio ◽

Mountainous Region ◽

Ungauged Basins ◽

Sediment Delivery

Abstract. High soil erosion and excessive sediment load are serious problems in several Himalayan river basins. To apply mitigation procedures, precise estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield with associated uncertainties are needed. Here, the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and the sediment delivery ratio (SDR) equations are used to estimate the spatial pattern of soil erosion (SE) and sediment yield (SY) in the Garra River basin, a small Himalayan tributary of the River Ganga. A methodology is proposed for quantifying and propagating uncertainties in SE, SDR and SY estimates. Expressions for uncertainty propagation are derived by first-order uncertainty analysis, making the method viable even for large river basins. The methodology is applied to investigate the relative importance of different RUSLE factors in estimating the magnitude and uncertainties in SE over two distinct morphoclimatic regimes of the Garra River basin, namely the upper mountainous region and the lower alluvial plains. Our results suggest that average SE in the basin is very high (23 ± 4.7 t ha−1 yr−1) with higher values in the upper mountainous region (92 ± 15.2 t ha−1 yr−1) compared to the lower alluvial plains (19.3 ± 4 t ha−1 yr−1). Furthermore, the topographic steepness (LS) and crop practice (CP) factors exhibit higher uncertainties than other RUSLE factors. The annual average SY is estimated at two locations in the basin – Nanak Sagar Dam (NSD) for the period 1962–2008 and Husepur gauging station (HGS) for 1987–2002. The SY at NSD and HGS are estimated to be 6.9 ± 1.2 × 105 t yr−1 and 6.7 ± 1.4 × 106 t yr−1, respectively, and the estimated 90 % interval contains the observed values of 6.4 × 105 t yr−1 and 7.2 × 106 t yr−1, respectively. The study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed methodology for quantifying uncertainty in SE and SY estimates at ungauged basins.

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The water dispatching of river basins during dry periods under the most stringent water management system in China

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2021.084 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yanhu He ◽

Zhenjie Gong ◽

Yanhui Zheng ◽

Xiaoyan Bai ◽

Peng Wang

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Water Resources ◽

River Basin ◽

Water Resources Management ◽

Management System ◽

River Basins ◽

Water Management System ◽

Resources Management ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Utilization Ratio

Abstract Since 2011, China has implemented its most stringent water management system to effectively protect water resources and guarantee socioeconomic development. More basin-scale water division schemes have been developed to act as references for basin-scale water resources management. Water dispatching during dry periods is an effective way to guarantee the water supply for the river basin, and is also an important component of basin-scale water resources management. Given this, the present study proposes a framework for the water dispatching of river basins during dry periods under the most stringent water management system in China. This framework mainly consists of the analysis and forecasting of rainfall and inflow, the dispatching requirements for the main water users, major reservoirs, and sections, as well as safeguard measures. The Jian River Basin in South China is presented as a case study. The total discharge of the Gaozhou Reservoir in 2017 was 25 million m3 more than the target discharge specified in the water dispatching scheme, and the total water storage utilization ratio during the dispatch period was 4.7% higher than the target utilization ratio. These factors demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed framework. HIGHLIGHT The proposed framework for the water dispatching of river basins during dry periods provides reliable technical support for water use security under the most stringent water management system in China, and is demonstrated to be both effective and applicable.

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Process-based distributed modeling approach for analysis of sediment dynamics in a river basin

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-7-5685-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 5685-5735

Author(s):

M. A. Kabir ◽

D. Dutta ◽

S. Hironaka

Keyword(s):

Sediment Transport ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

River Basin ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Sediment Dynamics ◽

Distributed Hydrological Model ◽

Distributed Modeling ◽

Modeling Approach ◽

Basin Scale

Abstract. Modeling of sediment dynamics for developing best management practices of reducing soil erosion and of sediment control has become essential for sustainable management of watersheds. Precise estimation of sediment dynamics is very important since soils are a major component of enormous environmental processes and sediment transport controls lake and river pollution extensively. Different hydrological processes govern sediment dynamics in a river basin, which are highly variable in spatial and temporal scales. This paper presents a process-based distributed modeling approach for analysis of sediment dynamics at river basin scale by integrating sediment processes (soil erosion, sediment transport and deposition) with an existing process-based distributed hydrological model. In this modeling approach, the watershed is divided into an array of homogeneous grids to capture the catchment spatial heterogeneity. Hillslope and river sediment dynamic processes have been modeled separately and linked to each other consistently. Water flow and sediment transport at different surface grids and river nodes are modeled using one-dimensional kinematic wave approximation of Saint-Venant equations. The mechanics of sediment dynamics are integrated into the model using representative physical equations after a comprehensive review. The model has been tested on river basins in two different hydro climatic areas, the Abukuma River Basin, Japan and Latrobe River Basin, Australia. Sediment transport and deposition are modeled using Govers transport capacity equation. All spatial datasets, such as, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), land use and soil classification data, etc., have been prepared using raster "Geographic Information System (GIS)" tools. The results of relevant statistical checks (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and R-squared value) indicate that the model simulates basin hydrology and its associated sediment dynamics reasonably well. This paper presents the model including descriptions of the various components and the results of its application on case study areas.

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Structural gaps of water resources knowledge in global river basins

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-25-5381-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (10) ◽

pp. 5381-5398

Author(s):

Shuanglei Wu ◽

Yongping Wei ◽

Xuemei Wang

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

River Basin ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Systems Approach ◽

River Basins ◽

Knowledge Development ◽

Period 2 ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Emerging Issues ◽

Management Issues

Abstract. The stationarity of hydrological systems is dead in the era of the Anthropocene. Has our hydrological or water resources knowledge been well transformed to address this change? By using publications indexed in the Web of Science database since 1900, we aim to investigate the global development of water resources knowledge at the river basin scale with a systems approach, of which water resources knowledge development in a river basin is defined as a complex system involving the co-evolutionary dynamics of scientific disciplines and management issues. It is found that (1) legacy-driven water resources knowledge structures have consistently dominated most of the highly researched river basins in the world, while innovation-driven structures are identified in the river basins receiving increasing research publications in the recent period; (2) the management issues addressed by legacy-driven river basin studies are increasingly homogenized, while a wider range of emerging issues are considered by innovation-driven river basin studies; and (3) cross-disciplinary collaborations have remained largely unchanged and collaborations with social sciences have been very limited. It is concluded that the stationarity of water resources knowledge structure persists. A structural shift of water resources knowledge development is urgently needed to cope with the rapidly changing hydrological systems and associated management issues, and opportunities for such a shift exist in those less researched but globally distributed innovation-driven river basins.

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