Impact of Land Use Change on Hydrologic Processes in a Large Plain Irrigation District

Xiao-Bo Luan, Pu-Te Wu (), Shi-Kun Sun (), Xiao-Lei Li, Yu-Bao Wang and Xue-Rui Gao
Additional contact information
Xiao-Bo Luan: Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources
Pu-Te Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources
Shi-Kun Sun: Northwest A&F University
Xiao-Lei Li: Northwest A&F University
Yu-Bao Wang: Northwest A&F University
Xue-Rui Gao: Northwest A&F University

Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), 2018, vol. 32, issue 9, No 18, 3203-3217

Abstract: Abstract Land use is the main factor that influences catchment hydrologic processes, and a better understanding of its effect is important for future land use planning and water resource management. By applying the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), we assessed the effects of land use changes on major hydrologic processes (evapotranspiration (ET), discharge, river) on a large plain irrigation district, the Hetao Irrigation District (HID), China. The results indicated that SWAT was a useful tool for simulating the effects of land use changes on regional hydrologic processes. Human activities were the main factors that directly influenced land use in the HID. Land use changes had important impacts on the hydrologic processes of the HID. During 1995–2010, the land use changed greatly in the HID, leading to the changes in ET and discharge. The peak value of ET coincided with the exuberant crop growth period in the maximized sown crop area. In 1995s, wheat maximized the sown area and ET peaked in June; when sunflower and corn maximized the sown area in 2010s, ET peaked in July and August. The increased ET reduced discharge in the same period in the HID. Land use change affected the period and quantity of water diversion in the irrigation district. The quantity of water diverted in 1995 was greater than that in 2010, indicating that land use change significantly impacted the water quantity of the river, which was the water source of the irrigation district. This study will be a reference for future land use planning and water resource management in the irrigation district.

Keywords: SWAT; Land use; Evapotranspiration; Discharge; Streamflow; Hetao Irrigation District (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11269-018-1986-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:waterr:v:32:y:2018:i:9:d:10.1007_s11269-018-1986-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11269

DOI: 10.1007/s11269-018-1986-5

Access Statistics for this article

Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA) is currently edited by G. Tsakiris

More articles in Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA) from Springer, European Water Resources Association (EWRA)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().