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3 pages, 175 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use

by František Petrovič

Water 2021, 13(6), 799; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13060799 - 15 Mar 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3264

Abstract

Water is a basic, necessary condition for life. It is referred to as the main commodity of the 21st century. There are already many areas in the world where its deficiency causes the degradation of landscape components (soil, flora, fauna), leading to the [...] Read more.

Water is a basic, necessary condition for life. It is referred to as the main commodity of the 21st century. There are already many areas in the world where its deficiency causes the degradation of landscape components (soil, flora, fauna), leading to the abandonment of this landscape and a gradual deterioration into desert. Desertification can lead to poverty, health problems and loss of biodiversity. Such negative processes can be caused by human influence either directly or indirectly. Indirectly, the civilization has an impact on water as a result of climate change influenced by its activities. The matter of climate change is currently a very frequently discussed issue. Climate change on planet Earth has been ongoing in the past and continues to happen today. However, most alarming is the fact that change is currently happening much faster and with increasing intensity. For this reason, the issue of climate change is no longer perceived only as a possible future threat, but rather is considered as one of the crucial environmental problems of today. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

24 pages, 4671 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Landscape Retention Water Capacity and Hydrological Balance in Traditional Agricultural Landscape (Model Area Liptovská Teplička Settlements, Slovakia)

by Zdena Krnáčová, Pavol Kenderessy, Juraj Hreško, Daniel Kubínsky and Marta Dobrovodská

Water 2020, 12(12), 3591; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12123591 - 21 Dec 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2957

Abstract

The hydration potential of a landscape is an increasingly important attribute in a time of advancing climate change, making its assessment also a matter of some urgency. This study used the landscape ecological approach involving the hydrological balance, in which the soil water [...] Read more.

The hydration potential of a landscape is an increasingly important attribute in a time of advancing climate change, making its assessment also a matter of some urgency. This study used the landscape ecological approach involving the hydrological balance, in which the soil water retention capacity (SWRC) and landscape water retention capacity (LWRC) are evaluated. To support our assessment of the water retention capacity in the landscape (LWRC), we used a synthetic interconnection of analytical vector layers of selected physical parameters of soil subtypes and secondary landscape structure (SLS) to create homogeneous polygons in the GIS Arc/Map10 computing environment. Selected abiotic and biotic attributes were assigned coefficients using a simple algorithm according to the authors, which were projected into landscape ecological complexes (LEC) in the GIS computer program in the Arc/Map10 program. We used hydrological balance calculations to specify the volumes of water retained in the landscape. The aim is to spatially estimate the retention capacity of the landscape, taking into account the current land use, including historical anti-erosion measures to reduce unwanted water runoff and soil erosion. Using zonal statistics, we achieved the following results. The part of the model area with very low or low LWCR represents 39.91% of the agricultural land used. We recorded a high LWCR on 17.69% of the area, with a predominance of meadows and cultizol cambis and cultizol fluvials. The calculation of the hydrological balance, which represents only 22.9% of atmospheric precipitation, also made a significant contribution to our knowledge of the LWRC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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16 pages, 10581 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying the Influence of Land Cover and Human Population on Chlorophyll a Concentrations Using a Pseudo-Watershed Analytical Framework

by Luke Moslenko, Kevin Blagrave, Alessandro Filazzola, Arnab Shuvo and Sapna Sharma

Water 2020, 12(11), 3215; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113215 - 17 Nov 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4109

Abstract

Increasing agricultural development and urbanization exacerbates the degradation of water quality in vulnerable freshwater systems around the world. Advances in remote sensing and greater availability of open-access data provides a valuable resource for monitoring water quality but harmonizing between databases remains a challenge. [...] Read more.

Increasing agricultural development and urbanization exacerbates the degradation of water quality in vulnerable freshwater systems around the world. Advances in remote sensing and greater availability of open-access data provides a valuable resource for monitoring water quality but harmonizing between databases remains a challenge. Here, we: (i) developed a pseudo-watershed analytical framework to associate freshwater lakes with adjacent land cover and human population data and (ii) applied the framework to quantify the relative influence of land cover and human population on primary production for 9313 lakes from 72 countries. We found that land cover and human population explained 30.2% of the variation in chlorophyll a concentrations worldwide. Chlorophyll a concentrations were highest in regions with higher agricultural activities and human populations. While anthropogenic land cover categories equated to only 4 of the 18 categories, they accounted for 41.5% of the relative explained variation. Applying our pseudo-watershed analytical framework allowed us to quantify the importance of land cover and human population on chlorophyll concentration for over 9000 lakes. However, this framework has broader applicability for any study or monitoring program that requires quantification of lake watersheds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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16 pages, 14837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Climate and Land Use Change on the Groundwater System of the Veluwe, The Netherlands: A Historical and Future Perspective

by Marjolein H. J. Van Huijgevoort, Bernard R. Voortman, Sjoerd Rijpkema, Kelly H. S. Nijhuis and Jan-Philip M. Witte

Water 2020, 12(10), 2866; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12102866 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4354

Abstract

Changes in land use and climate have a large influence on groundwater recharge and levels. In The Netherlands, precipitation shifts from summer to winter are expected, combined with an increase in summer temperature leading to higher evaporation. These changes in climate could threaten [...] Read more.

Changes in land use and climate have a large influence on groundwater recharge and levels. In The Netherlands, precipitation shifts from summer to winter are expected, combined with an increase in summer temperature leading to higher evaporation. These changes in climate could threaten the fresh water supply and increase the importance of large groundwater reservoirs. Sustainable management of these groundwater reservoirs, therefore, is crucial. Changes in land use could help mitigate the effects of climate change by decreasing the evaporation. In this study, we investigate the effect of changes in climate and land use on a large groundwater reservoir in The Netherlands, the Veluwe, for a historical period (1850–2016) and in the future (2036–2065). During the historical period, evaporation increased due to conversions from heather and drift sand to pine forest across the Veluwe. This change in land use had a larger effect on the groundwater recharge than change in climate over the historical period. In the future, an increase in winter precipitation will lead to higher groundwater levels in the elevated parts of the region. Surrounding areas are more vulnerable to an increase in dry periods in the summer. Groundwater reservoirs provide an opportunity to store water during wetter periods, which could alleviate drought impacts in surrounding regions during dry periods. Land use change, such as conversion from pine forest to other land use types, is a possible measure to increase water availability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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18 pages, 5448 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trends in the Magnitude and Frequency of Extreme Rainfall Regimes in Florida

by Tasnuva Mahjabin and Omar I. Abdul-Aziz

Water 2020, 12(9), 2582; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092582 - 16 Sep 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4171

Abstract

Trends in the extreme rainfall regimes were analyzed at 24 stations of Florida for four analysis periods: 1950–2010, 1960–2010, 1970–2010, and 1980–2010. A trend-free pre-whitening approach was utilized to correct data for autocorrelations. Non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Theil-Sen approach were employed to detect [...] Read more.

Trends in the extreme rainfall regimes were analyzed at 24 stations of Florida for four analysis periods: 1950–2010, 1960–2010, 1970–2010, and 1980–2010. A trend-free pre-whitening approach was utilized to correct data for autocorrelations. Non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Theil-Sen approach were employed to detect and estimate trends in the magnitude of annual maximum rainfalls and in the number of annual above-threshold events (i.e., frequency). A bootstrap resampling approach was used to account for cross-correlations across sites and evaluate the global significance of trends at the 10% level (p-value ≤ 0.10). Dominant locally significant (p-value ≤ 0.10) increasing trends were found in the magnitudes of 1–12 h extreme rainfalls for the longest period, and in 6 h to 7 day rainfalls for the shortest period. The trends in 2–12 h rainfalls were also globally significant (i.e., exceeded the trends that could occur by chance). In contrast, globally significant decreasing trends were noted in the annual number of 1–3 h, 1–6 h, and 3–6 h extreme rainfalls during 1950–2010, 1960–2010, and 1980–2010, respectively. Trends in the number of 1–7 day extreme rainfalls were mixed, lacking global significance. Our findings would guide stormwater management in tropical/subtropical environments of Florida and around the world. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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24 pages, 6777 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Which Aspects of Hydrological Regime in Mid-Latitude Montane Basins Are Affected by Climate Change?

by Jakub Langhammer and Jana Bernsteinová

Water 2020, 12(8), 2279; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082279 - 13 Aug 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2983

Abstract

This study analyzed the long-term alterations in runoff regime, seasonality and variability in headwater montane basins in Central Europe in response to the manifestations of climate change. We tested the common hypotheses on climate change effects on surface runoff dynamics in the Central [...] Read more.

This study analyzed the long-term alterations in runoff regime, seasonality and variability in headwater montane basins in Central Europe in response to the manifestations of climate change. We tested the common hypotheses on climate change effects on surface runoff dynamics in the Central Europe region, assuming that (i) recent climate warming will result in shifts in the seasonality of runoff, (ii) the runoff balance will remain without significant changes and (iii) that higher variability in runoff can be expected. The analyses were done on eight montane catchments in four mid-latitude mountain ranges in Central Europe, based on the uninterrupted time series of daily discharge observations from 1952 to 2018. We used 33 indicators of hydrologic alteration (IHA), 34 indicators of environmental flow components, the baseflow index, the calculation of surplus and deficit volumes and the frequency of peak and low flows. Homogeneity testing using Buishand, Pettitt and SNHT tests was applied to test the response of the hydrological alteration indicators to climate warming. We have proved the significant shifts in runoff seasonality, coinciding with the timing of the air temperature rise, marked by earlier snowmelt, followed by a decline in spring flows and a prolonged period of low flows. There was detected a rise in the baseflow index across the mountain ranges. Unlike the common hypotheses, the expected rise of runoff variability and frequency of peak flows was not demonstrated. However, we have identified a significant change of the flood hydrographs, tending to steeper shape with shorter recessing limbs as a sign of rising inner dynamics of flood events in montane catchments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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22 pages, 7364 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Relationship among Precipitation, Application of Salt in Winter Road Maintenance and the Quality of Waterways and Soil around Motorway

by Vilma Jandová, Martina Bucková, Jitka Hegrová, Ivo Dostál, Jiří Huzlík, Karel Effenberger and Roman Ličbinský

Water 2020, 12(8), 2206; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082206 - 5 Aug 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3718

Abstract

Construction of motorways and road traffic bring a new line element into the landscape, which fundamentally influences the local hydrological regime and water quality. Impermeable surfaces are introduced into the landscape, affecting the natural infiltration of water in the environment. The aim of [...] Read more.

Construction of motorways and road traffic bring a new line element into the landscape, which fundamentally influences the local hydrological regime and water quality. Impermeable surfaces are introduced into the landscape, affecting the natural infiltration of water in the environment. The aim of the present research was to assess the long-term historical development of changes in the landscape retention potential due to construction of the D1 motorway in the Jihlava region and also evaluate the impact of winter maintenance on the quality of surface waters and soils. During the reference period, the research area showed an increase in land take and related increases in soil sealing by impermeable surfaces due to the construction of the D1 motorway. This fact has clearly contributed to the deterioration of the retention potential of the landscape in the area. Chloride concentrations of both matrices were evaluated in relation to the amount of de-icing salt applied at the sites and precipitation recorded in this region. Water samples collected at the outflow contained in all cases higher concentrations of chloride than samples of the inflow water. The highest chloride concentration in soil was measured in samples collected at a distance of 2 m from the road. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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16 pages, 16252 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decision Making Methods to Optimize New Dam Site Selections on the Nitra River

by Igor Gacko, Zlatica Muchová, Ľuboš Jurík, Karol Šinka, Ladislav Fabian and František Petrovič

Water 2020, 12(7), 2042; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12072042 - 18 Jul 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2950

Abstract

Grouping both existing and newly planned reservoirs based on selected measurable characteristics allows to point out issues that are relevant to area management using experience obtained from the environment of other sites. Divisive hierarchical clustering has been deployed to find similarities between dam [...] Read more.

Grouping both existing and newly planned reservoirs based on selected measurable characteristics allows to point out issues that are relevant to area management using experience obtained from the environment of other sites. Divisive hierarchical clustering has been deployed to find similarities between dam locations. The Nitra River Basin (located in Nitra District, Nitra Region in Slovakia) with its 54 reservoirs is the model area. Profiles for 11 potential new reservoirs have been developed. Partial river basins were identified for each of the existing and new reservoirs using a digital relief model. The area size, proportion of arable land, forestland and built-up area, degree of exposure to soil erosion and the volume of surface runoff have been used as parameters for comparisons. Six clusters have been identified containing similar existing as well as new locations, one of them being a special case. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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18 pages, 3224 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Urbanization—Its Hidden Impact on Water Losses: Prądnik River Basin, Lesser Poland

by Tomáš Lepeška, Jakub Wojkowski, Andrzej Wałęga, Dariusz Młyński, Artur Radecki-Pawlik and Branislav Olah

Water 2020, 12(7), 1958; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12071958 - 10 Jul 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3342

Abstract

Urban development causes multiple water losses. Some of them may be ignored but some could have a huge influence on the whole catchment, including soil drought. As urban sprawl rises, space for unaffected infiltration and retention is increasingly limited. The objective of this [...] Read more.

Urban development causes multiple water losses. Some of them may be ignored but some could have a huge influence on the whole catchment, including soil drought. As urban sprawl rises, space for unaffected infiltration and retention is increasingly limited. The objective of this study was to backcast and to estimate water-retention loss due to urbanization during the period of 1990–2018. We used landcover data, meteorological and hydrological data and data on soil water-holding capacity. Water-retention loss was expressed as soil water retention capacity loss, net precipitation loss and total sum of precipitation loss. Historical change in urban extension has led to large impacts on the hydrological cycle of the study area. Progressive urban development caused water-retention losses which range from 3.380 to 14.182 millions of cubic meters—depending on the methodology used. Hydrological analysis showed the lack of a significant trend (decrease trend) of low flow which is caused by the high percentage of natural land use in the upper part of catchment. Our results show that backcasting of water retention change using CLC data (a) brings new and plausible data on retention loss, (b) is possible to replicate and (c) data used are common and easy-to-get. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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25 pages, 2371 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Watershed Hydrological Response to Combined Land Use/Land Cover and Climate Change in Highland Ethiopia: Finchaa Catchment

by Wakjira Takala Dibaba, Tamene Adugna Demissie and Konrad Miegel

Water 2020, 12(6), 1801; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061801 - 24 Jun 2020

Cited by 109 | Viewed by 6955

Abstract

Land use/land cover (LULC) and climate change affect the availability of water resources by altering the magnitude of surface runoff, aquifer recharge, and river flows. The evaluation helps to identify the level of water resources exposure to the changes that could help to [...] Read more.

Land use/land cover (LULC) and climate change affect the availability of water resources by altering the magnitude of surface runoff, aquifer recharge, and river flows. The evaluation helps to identify the level of water resources exposure to the changes that could help to plan for potential adaptive capacity. In this research, Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov in IDRISI software was used to predict the future LULC scenarios and the ensemble mean of four regional climate models (RCMs) in the coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment (CORDEX)-Africa was used for the future climate scenarios. Distribution mapping was used to bias correct the RCMs outputs, with respect to the observed precipitation and temperature. Then, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to evaluate the watershed hydrological responses of the catchment under separate, and combined, LULC and climate change. The result shows the ensemble mean of the four RCMs reported precipitation decline and increase in future temperature under both representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The increases in both maximum and minimum temperatures are higher for higher emission scenarios showing that RCP8.5 projection is warmer than RCP4.5. The changes in LULC brings an increase in surface runoff and water yield and a decline in groundwater, while the projected climate change shows a decrease in surface runoff, groundwater and water yield. The combined study of LULC and climate change shows that the effect of the combined scenario is similar to that of climate change only scenario. The overall decline of annual flow is due to the decline in the seasonal flows under combined scenarios. This could bring the reduced availability of water for crop production, which will be a chronic issue of subsistence agriculture. The possibility of surface water and groundwater reduction could also affect the availability of water resources in the catchment and further aggravate water stress in the downstream. The highly rising demands of water, owing to socio-economic progress, population growth and high demand for irrigation water downstream, in addition to the variability temperature and evaporation demands, amplify prolonged water scarcity. Consequently, strong land-use planning and climate-resilient water management policies will be indispensable to manage the risks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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18 pages, 2765 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Effects of Land Use Changes on Streamflow and Sediment Yield in Atibaia River Basin—SP, Brazil

by Franciane Mendonça dos Santos, Rodrigo Proença de Oliveira and José Augusto Di Lollo

Water 2020, 12(6), 1711; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061711 - 16 Jun 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4061

Abstract

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is often used to evaluate the impacts of different land use scenarios on streamflow and sediment yield, but there is a need for some clear recommendations on how to select the parameter set that defines a [...] Read more.

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is often used to evaluate the impacts of different land use scenarios on streamflow and sediment yield, but there is a need for some clear recommendations on how to select the parameter set that defines a given land use scenario and on what is the most appropriate methodology to change the selected parameters when describing possible future conditions. This paper reviews the SWAT formulation to identify the parameters that depend on the land use, performs a sensitivity analysis to determine the ones with larger impacts on the model results and discusses ways to consider future land use conditions. The case study is the Atibaia river basin, with 2838 km² (São Paulo, Brazil). The parameters identified by sensitivity analysis with the largest impacts on streamflow and sediment yield were the initial curve number for moisture condition II (CN), maximum canopy storage for each land use (CANMX) and the cover and management factor (USLE_C). The identification and appropriate parameter change can provide real estimates of the magnitudes in the land use changes, which were verified in this study. Such information can be used as an instrument for proposing improvements in the basin’s environmental quality and management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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16 pages, 2250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laser Diffraction as An Innovative Alternative to Standard Pipette Method for Determination of Soil Texture Classes in Central Europe

by Dušan Igaz, Elena Aydin, Miroslava Šinkovičová, Vladimír Šimanský, Andrej Tall and Ján Horák

Water 2020, 12(5), 1232; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051232 - 26 Apr 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4928

Abstract

The paper presents the comparison of soil particle size distribution determined by standard pipette method and laser diffraction. Based on the obtained results (542 soil samples from 271 sites located in the Nitra, Váh and Hron River basins), regression models were calculated to [...] Read more.

The paper presents the comparison of soil particle size distribution determined by standard pipette method and laser diffraction. Based on the obtained results (542 soil samples from 271 sites located in the Nitra, Váh and Hron River basins), regression models were calculated to convert the results of the particle size distribution by laser diffraction to pipette method. Considering one of the most common soil texture classification systems used in Slovakia (according to Novák), the emphasis was placed on the determination accuracy of particle size fraction <0.01 mm. Analysette22 MicroTec plus and Mastersizer2000 devices were used for laser diffraction. Polynomial regression model resulted in the best approximation of measurements by laser diffraction to values obtained by pipette method. In the case of particle size fraction <0.01 mm, the differences between the measured values by pipette method and both laser analyzers ranged in average from 3% up to 9% and from 2% up to 11% in the case of Analysette22 and Mastersizer2000, respectively. After correction, the differences decreased to average 3.28% (Analysette22) and 2.24% (Mastersizer2000) in comparison with pipette method. After recalculation of the data, laser diffraction can be used alongside the sedimentation methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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26 pages, 4715 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use/Cover Change on Streamflow in Beichuan River Basin in Qinghai Province, China

by Zhe Liu, Lan Cuo, Qijiang Li, Xisheng Liu, Xuelian Ma, Liqiao Liang and Jin Ding

Water 2020, 12(4), 1198; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041198 - 23 Apr 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4311

Abstract

Climate change (CC) and land use/cover change (LUCC) are the main drivers of streamflow change. In this study, the effects of CC and LUCC on streamflow regime as well as their spatial variability were examined by using the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model [...] Read more.

Climate change (CC) and land use/cover change (LUCC) are the main drivers of streamflow change. In this study, the effects of CC and LUCC on streamflow regime as well as their spatial variability were examined by using the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) for the Beichuan River Basin in the northeast Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that CC increased annual and maximum streamflow in the upstream but decreased them in the downstream. CC also enhanced minimum streamflow in the whole river basin and advanced the occurrence of daily minimum streamflow. Temperature change exerted greater influence on streamflow regime than wind speed change did in most situations, but the impact of wind speed on streamflow reflected the characteristics of accumulative effects, which may require more attention in future, especially in large river basins. As for LUCC, cropland expansion and reservoir operation were the primary reasons for streamflow reduction. Cropland expansion contributed more to annual mean streamflow change, whereas reservoir operation greatly altered monthly streamflow pattern and extreme streamflow. Reservoir regulation also postponed the timing of minimum streamflow and extended durations of average, high, and low streamflow. Spatially, CC and LUCC played predominant roles in the upstream and the downstream, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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13 pages, 3025 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Methodology to Assess the Influence of Hydraulic Characteristics on Habitat Quality

by Zuzana Štefunková, Viliam Macura, Andrej Škrinár, Martina Majorošová, Gréta Doláková, Peter Halaj and Timea Petrová

Water 2020, 12(4), 1131; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041131 - 15 Apr 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2909

Abstract

The article aims at assessing the impact of hydraulic characteristics on the habitat quality of mountain and piedmont watercourses. The solution results from the Riverine Habitat Simulation model, where the quality of the aquatic habitat is represented by the weighted usable area (WUA), [...] Read more.

The article aims at assessing the impact of hydraulic characteristics on the habitat quality of mountain and piedmont watercourses. The solution results from the Riverine Habitat Simulation model, where the quality of the aquatic habitat is represented by the weighted usable area (WUA), which is determined using brown trout as the bioindicator. Flow velocity and water depth are basic abiotic characteristics that determine the ratio of suitability of the instream habitat represented by the weighted usable area. The influence of these parameters on the objective evaluation of the habitat quality is the essence of the paper. The measurements were carried out during the summer period at minimum discharges for 17 mountain and piedmont streams in Slovakia. Three methods for assessing the habitat quality were tested, and differences in the results were found to be significant. The evaluation shows the optimum design methods for calculating the weighted usable area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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18 pages, 2845 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantitative Analysis of Hydrological Responses to Climate Variability and Land-Use Change in the Hilly-Gully Region of the Loess Plateau, China

by Youcai Kang, Jianen Gao, Hui Shao and Yuanyuan Zhang

Water 2020, 12(1), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12010082 - 24 Dec 2019

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4550

Abstract

Climate and land-use change are the two main driving forces that affect watershed hydrological processes. Separately assessing their impacts on hydrology is important for land-use planning and water resource management. In this research, the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) and statistical methods [...] Read more.

Climate and land-use change are the two main driving forces that affect watershed hydrological processes. Separately assessing their impacts on hydrology is important for land-use planning and water resource management. In this research, the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) and statistical methods were applied to evaluate the effects of climate and land-use change on surface hydrology in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau. The results showed that surface runoff and soil water presented a downward tendency, while evapotranspiration (ET) presented an upward tendency in the Yanhe watershed from 1982 to 2012. Climate is one the dominant factors that influence surface runoff, especially in flooding periods. The average contribution rate of surface runoff on stream flow accounted for 55%, of which the flooding period accounted for 40%. The runoff coefficient declined by 0.21 after 2002 with the land-use change of cropland transformed to grassland and forestland. The soil water exhibited great fluctuation along the Yanhe watershed. In the upstream region, the land-use was the driving force to decline soil water, which reduced the soil water by 51%. Along the spatial distribution, it converted from land-use change to climate variability from northwest to southeast. The ET was more sensitive to land-use change than climate variability in all sub-basins, and increased by 209% with vegetation restoration. To prevent the ecosystem degradation and maintain the inherent ecological functions of rivers, quantitative assessment the influence of climate variability and land-use change on hydrology is of great importance. Such evaluations can provide insight into the extent of land use/cover change on regional water balance and develop appropriate watershed management strategies on the Loess Plateau. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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25 pages, 7711 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Temporal Variabilities of Evapotranspiration Rates and Their Associations with Climate Change and Vegetation Greening in the Gan River Basin, China

by Meng Bai, Bing Shen, Xiaoyu Song, Shuhong Mo, Lingmei Huang and Quan Quan

Water 2019, 11(12), 2568; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122568 - 5 Dec 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3279

Abstract

Understanding the spatial-temporal dynamics of evapotranspiration in relation to climate change and human activities is crucial for the sustainability of water resources and ecosystem security, especially in regions strongly influenced by human impact. In this study, a process-based evapotranspiration (ET) model in conjunction [...] Read more.

Understanding the spatial-temporal dynamics of evapotranspiration in relation to climate change and human activities is crucial for the sustainability of water resources and ecosystem security, especially in regions strongly influenced by human impact. In this study, a process-based evapotranspiration (ET) model in conjunction with the Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS) LAI dataset was used to characterize the spatial-temporal pattern of evapotranspiration from 1982 to 2016 over the Gan River basin (GRB), the largest sub-basin of the Poyang Lake catchment, China. The results showed that the actual annual ET (ETa) weakly increased with an annual trend of 0.88 mm year⁻² from 1982 to 2016 over the GRB, along with a slight decline in annual potential ET (ETp). On an ecosystem scale; however, only the evergreen broadleaved forest and cropland presented a positive ETa trend, while the rest of the ecosystems demonstrated negative trends of ETa. Both correlation analysis and sensitivity analysis revealed a close relationship between ETa inter-annual variability and energy availability. Attribution analysis illustrated that contributions of climate change and vegetation greening on the ETa trend were −0.48 mm year⁻² and 1.36 mm year⁻², respectively. Climate change had a negative impact on the ETa trend over the GRB. However, the negative effects have been offset by the positive effects of vegetation greening, which mainly resulted from the large-scale revegetation in forestland and agricultural practices in cropland. It is concluded that large-scale afforestation and agricultural management were the main drivers of the long-term evolution of water consumption over the GRB. This study can improve our understanding of the interactive effects of climate change and human activities on the long-term evolution of water cycles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use)

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