Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Hydrological Systems

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Systems and Global Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2023) | Viewed by 9945

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Soil and Water Science Department, West Florida Research and Education Center, IFAS, University of Florida, Milton, FL 32583, USA
Interests: hydrology; land use change; soil erosion and sedimentation; soil and water conservation; watershed modelling; spatial analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
1. Center for Environment and Development Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O.Box 1176, Ethiopia
2. Water and Land Resource Center, Rahem Building, Diaspora Square Megenagna, Addis Ababa P.O.Box 3880, Ethiopia
Interests: land surface hydrology; land change; remote sensing; water-related natural hazards; land degradation

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Guest Editor
Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, PO Box 1176, Ethiopia
Interests: climate change; water resources; watershed management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid growth of the global population has increased the pressure on land resources to provide food and shelter. Environmental changes, such as changes in land use/cover, have significantly modified the hydrological systems of catchments. The alteration of existing land surface characteristics can change the dynamics of the hydrological processes by modifying the partitioning of incoming precipitation into different hydrological components and the overall availability of water. Moreover, the timing and magnitude of extreme flows of rivers can also be increased or decreased in response to changes in land use/cover in a given catchment area. Conversion and degradation of land use/cover are also expected to significantly alter rivers' hydrological processes and flow regimes in the future. Overall, change in land use/cover is considered one of the most influential factors that govern hydrological systems, and it is for this reason that the attention of the scientific community has been continuously attracted to understanding the complex relationships of land use/cover and hydrological systems. A continuous investigation of the interaction of land use and hydrological processes is vital for improved water management and sustainable development. Therefore, this Special Issue is envisaged to contribute to our understanding of changes in land use/cover and their impacts on hydrological systems.

This Special Issue is proposed to investigate the impact of land use and land cover change on hydrological systems and contribute to the scientific literature on hydrological responses to human-induced environmental changes.

We welcome researchers to submit their high-quality research on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  1. Linking land use to hydrological systems at local, regional, and global scales;
  2. Effects of land use change on hydrological processes;
  3. Predictions of future land use change impacts on hydrological regimes;
  4. Assessment of methods, frameworks, and tools;
  5. Management scenarios for improved hydrological systems;
  6. Water productivity of different land use;
  7. How do changes in land use affect the availability and distribution of water resources.

Dr. Tesfay Gebretsadkan Gebremicael
Dr. Ermias Teferi
Prof. Dr. Woldeamlak Bewket
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • hydrological response
  • land use/cover change
  • run off processes
  • hydrological systems
  • hydrological effects
  • land management

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4445 KiB  
Article
Scrutinizing the Hydrological Responses of Chennai, India Using Coupled SWAT-FEM Model under Land Use Land Cover and Climate Change Scenarios
by Pooja Preetha and Mahbub Hasan
Land 2023, 12(5), 938; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12050938 - 22 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1771
Abstract
This study implemented a coupled SWAT-FEM simulation model to evaluate the impacts of land use land cover and climate change scenarios (LCS) on the water resources of river catchments in Chennai, India. The land use land cover data were obtained by merging the [...] Read more.
This study implemented a coupled SWAT-FEM simulation model to evaluate the impacts of land use land cover and climate change scenarios (LCS) on the water resources of river catchments in Chennai, India. The land use land cover data were obtained by merging the source data from National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Climate change simulations were obtained from four global climate models (GCM), including GFDL Baseline Scenario (1981–2000), GFDL A1B Scenario (2081–2100), CCSM4 Baseline Scenario (1986–2005), and CCSM4 A1B Scenario (2081–2100). The LCS predicted temperature increases of 2.32 °C and 1.74 °C for GFDL and CCSM4, respectively, by the end of the century. The water use predictions suggested increases above 20% in the utilization of water by 2100, inferring the noticeable dynamics of inter-annual as well as inter-month variability in water resources in the river basins of Chennai soon. The study is novel through its implementation of a coupled modeling approach to improve the practicality of the SWAT-FEM model and to deliver useful projections of land and climate change impacts on hydrological responses. The results provide useful insights into how the variability in climate conditions alters the spatiotemporal water responses in catchment scales. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Hydrological Systems)
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21 pages, 6404 KiB  
Article
Effects of Grassland Afforestation on Water Yield in Basins of Uruguay: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Historical Trends Using Remote Sensing and Field Measurements
by Deyvis Cano, Carlos Cacciuttolo, Maria Custodio and Marcelo Nosetto
Land 2023, 12(1), 185; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12010185 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2456
Abstract
The afforestation of grasslands can alter different ecosystems’ functional processes; it affects the water balance due to the high water demand, caused by the increased productivity of the plantations, increase evapotranspiration, and reduces base flow of the basins. In Uruguay, there are two [...] Read more.
The afforestation of grasslands can alter different ecosystems’ functional processes; it affects the water balance due to the high water demand, caused by the increased productivity of the plantations, increase evapotranspiration, and reduces base flow of the basins. In Uruguay, there are two scenarios; the headwaters of the Tacuarembó River, where the area of plantations has increased for more than 30 years, and the headwaters of the Río Negro, where mainly grasslands are preserved without significant changes. This article evaluates the dynamics of grassland afforestation in the two basins, through the spatial and temporal analysis of historical trends with the use of remote sensors and considering the effect on water yield through field measurements, in the period 1984–2014. The spatial analysis shows an increase in the area of the forested basin, and the temporal analysis shows a reduction in the runoff coefficient due to the effect of the afforestation of pastures. Therefore, the movement from grassland to forest plantations reduces water flow considerably; this was identified through base flow measurements in the field with the integration of remote sensors. This allowed the observation of the relevant changes in the two basins studied, which may be related to climate change and human activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Hydrological Systems)
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27 pages, 5294 KiB  
Article
A Reconstruction of Irrigated Cropland Extent in China from 2000 to 2019 Using the Synergy of Statistics and Satellite-Based Datasets
by Minghao Bai, Shenbei Zhou and Ting Tang
Land 2022, 11(10), 1686; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11101686 - 29 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1664
Abstract
Irrigated agriculture has undergone rapid developments in China, which has greatly increased food production but overexploited water resources as well. Spatial information on irrigated cropland is critical to balance irrigation yield gains against the negative impact on water resources. However, remote-sensing-based maps on [...] Read more.
Irrigated agriculture has undergone rapid developments in China, which has greatly increased food production but overexploited water resources as well. Spatial information on irrigated cropland is critical to balance irrigation yield gains against the negative impact on water resources. However, remote-sensing-based maps on irrigated areas with short temporal coverage often suffer from undermined accuracy in humid areas and inconsistency with statistics, which limit their applications in food policy and water management. The following study integrates existing irrigation maps, observed data on irrigated cropping system, and statistics by a synergy approach to map irrigated areas in China from 2000 to 2019. We also incorporate past information on actual irrigation to avoid divergence between observations and statistics from its fluctuation. Afterwards, 614 reference samples across mainland China have been used to validate resultant maps, which show that outperformance was above overall accuracy and Kappa coefficients. Moreover, our maps share a similar spatial pattern with Irrimap-Syn maps rather than remote-sensing-based maps (CCI-LC). Irrigated areas have grown rapidly from 55.42 Mha in 2000 to 71.33 Mha in 2019 but with different growth trends in different regions. Simultaneous large-scale expansion and abandonment occur in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and Yangtze River Basin, while the Northwest Inland Region and the Northeast Plain are the two largest net area gains. Rainfed croplands are dominant sources of expansion, followed by pastures, respectively, with over 70% and 20% contributions in total gains. This not only is a shift from rainfed to irrigated systems but also indicates an intensification of agriculture, which might contribute to agricultural drought reductions in the north and wide soil suitability. Other efforts on agricultural sustainability also have been detected, such as geographical shifts from vulnerable to relatively suitable areas, grain for green, cropland protection, and cropland protection in the competition of urbanization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Hydrological Systems)
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43 pages, 11040 KiB  
Article
Analyzing the Effects of Land Cover Change on the Water Balance for Case Study Watersheds in Different Forested Ecosystems in the USA
by Nathan C. Healey and Jennifer A. Rover
Land 2022, 11(2), 316; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11020316 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2779
Abstract
We analyzed impacts of interannual disturbance on the water balance of watersheds in different forested ecosystem case studies across the United States from 1985 to 2016 using a remotely sensed long-term land cover monitoring record (U.S. Geological Survey Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and [...] Read more.
We analyzed impacts of interannual disturbance on the water balance of watersheds in different forested ecosystem case studies across the United States from 1985 to 2016 using a remotely sensed long-term land cover monitoring record (U.S. Geological Survey Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP) Collection 1.0 Science products), gridded precipitation and evaporation data, and streamgaging data using paired watersheds (high and low disturbance). LCMAP products were used to quantify the timing and degree of interannual disturbance and to gain a better understanding of how land cover change affects the water balance of disturbed watersheds. In this paper, we present how LCMAP science products can be used to improve knowledge for hydrologic modeling, climate research, and forest management. Anthropogenic influences (e.g., dams and irrigation diversions) often minimize the impacts of land cover change on water balance dynamics when compared to interannual fluctuations of hydroclimatic events (e.g., drought and flooding). Our findings show that each watershed exhibits a complex suite of influences involving climate variables and other factors that affect each of their water balances differently when land cover change occurs. In this study, forests within arid to semi-arid climates experience greater water balance effects from land cover change than watersheds where water is less limited. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Hydrological Systems)
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