scholarly journals Hydrological processes and water resources management in a dryland environment I: An introduction to the Romwe Catchment Study in Southern Zimbabwe

1999 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bromley ◽  
J. A. Butterworth ◽  
D. M. J. Macdonald ◽  
C. J. Lovell ◽  
I. Mharapara ◽  
...  

Abstract. In Zimbabwe during the 1980s and early 1990s, a sequence of severe droughts caused widespread food shortages and great hardship to rural communities. The droughts exacerbated the problems of environmental degradation in communal lands and highlighted the lack of understanding of the links between the climate, land use and hydrology of dryland regions. The Romwe Catchment Study addresses these issues, and has led to the establishment of the first fully-instrumented research catchment in a communally-managed dryland environment in southern Africa. The key objectives were (a) to improve the understanding of hydrological processes in communal land areas, mostly underlain by crystalline basement aquifers, and (b) to investigate the impacts of variations in climate and changes in land use and management on the hydrology and water resources. In this introductory paper, the physical characteristics of the catchment are described together with the instrumentation to monitor hydrological processes and quantify the catchment water balance.

Climate ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Geofrey Gabiri ◽  
Bernd Diekkrüger ◽  
Kristian Näschen ◽  
Constanze Leemhuis ◽  
Roderick van der Linden ◽  
...  

The impact of climate and land use/land cover (LULC) change continues to threaten water resources availability for the agriculturally used inland valley wetlands and their catchments in East Africa. This study assessed climate and LULC change impacts on the hydrological processes of a tropical headwater inland valley catchment in Uganda. The hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to analyze climate and LULC change impacts on the hydrological processes. An ensemble of six regional climate models (RCMs) from the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment for two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, were used for climate change assessment for historical (1976–2005) and future climate (2021–2050). Four LULC scenarios defined as exploitation, total conservation, slope conservation, and protection of headwater catchment were considered. The results indicate an increase in precipitation by 7.4% and 21.8% of the annual averages in the future under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. Future wet conditions are more pronounced in the short rainy season than in the long rainy season. Flooding intensity is likely to increase during the rainy season with low flows more pronounced in the dry season. Increases in future annual averages of water yield (29.0% and 42.7% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively) and surface runoff (37.6% and 51.8% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively) relative to the historical simulations are projected. LULC and climate change individually will cause changes in the inland valley hydrological processes, but more pronounced changes are expected if the drivers are combined, although LULC changes will have a dominant influence. Adoption of total conservation, slope conservation and protection of headwater catchment LULC scenarios will significantly reduce climate change impacts on water resources in the inland valley. Thus, if sustainable climate-smart management practices are adopted, the availability of water resources for human consumption and agricultural production will increase.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Mersiana Sahureka

Socio-economic and cultural life of rural communities in an effort Hukurila land use and management of forest resources to meet the needs of life is a hereditary habits are not many greet the change . Research conducted in the village of Hukurila aims to : 1 ) determine the characteristics of rural communities Hukurila role in the management of natural resources , 2. Knowing the diversity of land use by communities Hukurila 3.Mengetahui stages of land management by communities Hukurila. The method used is survey analysis by doing a direct observation, selection and sampling locations is done with a specific purpose ( purposeful ) with 15 respondents coupled with key informants : Saniri country ( village government ) and related instransi , and NGO. The results showed the characteristics of the community in the utilization and management of forest resources based on age class , level of education , type of work and the amount of income . The pattern of land use by communities Hukurila can be divided into five (5 ) the yard , garden, Dusung agroforestry , forest , coast. While the stages of land management consists of Preparation , planting , maintenance , harvesting , marketing , post-harvest processing .


2021 ◽  
pp. 205301962110075
Author(s):  
Ilan Stavi ◽  
Joana Roque de Pinho ◽  
Anastasia K Paschalidou ◽  
Susana B Adamo ◽  
Kathleen Galvin ◽  
...  

During the last decades, pastoralist, and agropastoralist populations of the world’s drylands have become exceedingly vulnerable to regional and global changes. Specifically, exacerbated stressors imposed on these populations have adversely affected their food security status, causing humanitarian emergencies and catastrophes. Of these stressors, climate variability and change, land-use and management practices, and dynamics of human demography are of a special importance. These factors affect all four pillars of food security, namely, food availability, access to food, food utilization, and food stability. The objective of this study was to critically review relevant literature to assess the complex web of interrelations and feedbacks that affect these factors. The increasing pressures on the world’s drylands necessitate a comprehensive analysis to advise policy makers regarding the complexity and linkages among factors, and to improve global action. The acquired insights may be the basis for alleviating food insecurity of vulnerable dryland populations.


Author(s):  
Temesgen Mulualem ◽  
Enyew Adgo ◽  
Derege Tsegaye Meshesha ◽  
Atsushi Tsunekawa ◽  
Nigussie Haregeweyn ◽  
...  

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Antonio J. Mendoza-Fernández ◽  
Araceli Peña-Fernández ◽  
Luis Molina ◽  
Pedro A. Aguilera

Campo de Dalías, located in southeastern Spain, is the greatest European exponent of greenhouse agriculture. The development of this type of agriculture has led to an exponential economic development of one of the poorest areas of Spain, in a short period of time. Simultaneously, it has brought about a serious alteration of natural resources. This article will study the temporal evolution of changes in land use, and the exploitation of groundwater. Likewise, this study will delve into the technological development in greenhouses (irrigation techniques, new water resources, greenhouse structures or improvement in cultivation techniques) seeking a sustainable intensification of agriculture under plastic. This sustainable intensification also implies the conservation of existing natural areas.


Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Nick Martin

Climate and land use and land cover (LULC) changes will impact watershed-scale water resources. These systemic alterations will have interacting influences on water availability. A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) framework for water resource impact analysis from future systemic change is described and implemented to examine combined climate and LULC change impacts from 2011–2100 for a study site in west-central Texas. Internally, the PRA framework provides probabilistic simulation of reference and future conditions using weather generator and water balance models in series—one weather generator and water balance model for reference and one of each for future conditions. To quantify future conditions uncertainty, framework results are the magnitude of change in water availability, from the comparison of simulated reference and future conditions, and likelihoods for each change. Inherent advantages of the framework formulation for analyzing future risk are the explicit incorporation of reference conditions to avoid additional scenario-based analysis of reference conditions and climate change emissions scenarios. In the case study application, an increase in impervious area from economic development is the LULC change; it generates a 1.1 times increase in average water availability, relative to future climate trends, from increased runoff and decreased transpiration.


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