Impacts of Land Cover and Climate Change on Water Resources in Suasco River Watershed

Impacts of Land Cover and Climate Change on Water Resources in Suasco River Watershed PDF Author: Ammara Talib
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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ABSTRACT IMPACTS OF LAND COVER AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER RESOURCES IN SUASCO RIVER WATERSHED September 2015 AMMARA TALIB, BS., PUNJAB UNIVERSITY LAHORE MS., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Tim Randhir Hydrological balance and biogeochemical processes in watershed are significantly influenced by changes in land use land cover (LULC) and climate change. Those changes can influence interception, evapotranspiration (ET), infiltration, soil moisture, water balance and biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other elements at regional to global scales. The impacts of these hydrological disturbances are generally reflected in form of increasing runoff rate and volume, more intense and frequent floods, decreasing groundwater recharge and base flow, elevated levels of sediments and increase in concentration of nutrients in both streams and shallow groundwater. Water quality of Sudbury, Assabet and Concord (SuAsCo) watershed in Massachusetts is also compromised because of influx of runoff, sediments and nutrients. There is a crucial need to evaluate the synergistic effects of LULC change and climate change on the water quality and water quantity in a watershed system. A watershed simulation model is used to simulate hydrologic processes and water quality changes in sediment loads, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). The model is calibrated and validated with field-measured data. Climatic scenarios are represented by downscaled regional projections from Global Climate Model (GCM) models and regional built out scenarios of LULC are used to assess the impacts of projected LULC and climate change on water quality and water quantity. Simultaneous changes in LULC and climate significantly affect the water resources in the SuAsCo River watershed. Change in climate increased ET (4.7 %) because of high temperature, but independent change in land cover reduced ET (6.5%) because of less available vegetation. Combined change in land cover and climate reduced ET (2.1%) overall, which indicates that land cover change has significant impact on ET. Change in climate increased total run off (6%) and this increase is more significant as compared to 2.7 % increase in total runoff caused by land cover change. Change in land cover increased surface runoff more significantly (69.2%) than 7.9 % increase caused by climate change. Combined change in land cover and climate further increased the average storm peak volume (12.8 percent) because of high precipitation and impervious area in future. There is a potential for reducing runoff, sediments and nutrients loads by using conservation policies and adaptation strategies. This research provides valuable information about the dynamics of watershed system, as well as the complex processes that impair water resources.

Impacts of Land Cover and Climate Change on Water Resources in Suasco River Watershed

Impacts of Land Cover and Climate Change on Water Resources in Suasco River Watershed PDF Author: Ammara Talib
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
ABSTRACT IMPACTS OF LAND COVER AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER RESOURCES IN SUASCO RIVER WATERSHED September 2015 AMMARA TALIB, BS., PUNJAB UNIVERSITY LAHORE MS., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Tim Randhir Hydrological balance and biogeochemical processes in watershed are significantly influenced by changes in land use land cover (LULC) and climate change. Those changes can influence interception, evapotranspiration (ET), infiltration, soil moisture, water balance and biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other elements at regional to global scales. The impacts of these hydrological disturbances are generally reflected in form of increasing runoff rate and volume, more intense and frequent floods, decreasing groundwater recharge and base flow, elevated levels of sediments and increase in concentration of nutrients in both streams and shallow groundwater. Water quality of Sudbury, Assabet and Concord (SuAsCo) watershed in Massachusetts is also compromised because of influx of runoff, sediments and nutrients. There is a crucial need to evaluate the synergistic effects of LULC change and climate change on the water quality and water quantity in a watershed system. A watershed simulation model is used to simulate hydrologic processes and water quality changes in sediment loads, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). The model is calibrated and validated with field-measured data. Climatic scenarios are represented by downscaled regional projections from Global Climate Model (GCM) models and regional built out scenarios of LULC are used to assess the impacts of projected LULC and climate change on water quality and water quantity. Simultaneous changes in LULC and climate significantly affect the water resources in the SuAsCo River watershed. Change in climate increased ET (4.7 %) because of high temperature, but independent change in land cover reduced ET (6.5%) because of less available vegetation. Combined change in land cover and climate reduced ET (2.1%) overall, which indicates that land cover change has significant impact on ET. Change in climate increased total run off (6%) and this increase is more significant as compared to 2.7 % increase in total runoff caused by land cover change. Change in land cover increased surface runoff more significantly (69.2%) than 7.9 % increase caused by climate change. Combined change in land cover and climate further increased the average storm peak volume (12.8 percent) because of high precipitation and impervious area in future. There is a potential for reducing runoff, sediments and nutrients loads by using conservation policies and adaptation strategies. This research provides valuable information about the dynamics of watershed system, as well as the complex processes that impair water resources.

Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate

Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate PDF Author: Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3036502661
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The immediate goal of this Special Issue was the characterization of land uses and occupations (LULC) in watersheds and the assessment of impacts caused by anthropogenic activities. The goal was immediate because the ultimate purpose was to help bring disturbed watersheds to a better condition or a utopian sustainable status. The steps followed to attain this objective included publishing studies on the understanding of factors and variables that control hydrology and water quality changes in response to human activities. Following this first step, the Special Issue selected work that described adaption measures capable of improving the watershed condition (water availability and quality), namely LULC conversions (e.g., monocultures into agro-forestry systems). Concerning the LULC measures, however, efficacy was questioned unless supported by public programs that force consumers to participate in concomitant costs, because conversions may be viewed as an environmental service.

Impacts of Landscape Change on Water Resources

Impacts of Landscape Change on Water Resources PDF Author: Manoj K. Jha
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3039434268
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Changes in land use and land cover can have many drivers, including population growth, urbanization, agriculture, demand for food, evolution of socio-economic structure, policy regulations, and climate variability. The impacts of these changes on water resources range from changes in water availability (due to changes in losses of water to evapotranspiration and recharge) to degradation of water quality (increased erosion, salinity, chemical loadings, and pathogens). The impacts are manifested through complex hydro-bio-geo-climate characteristics, which underscore the need for integrated scientific approaches to understand the impacts of landscape change on water resources. Several techniques, such as field studies, long-term monitoring, remote sensing technologies, and advanced modeling studies, have contributed to better understanding the modes and mechanisms by which landscape changes impact water resources. Such research studies can help unlock the complex interconnected influences of landscape on water resources in terms of quantity and quality at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this Special Issue, we published a set of eight peer-reviewed articles elaborating on some of the specific topics of landscape changes and associated impacts on water resources.

Water, Climate Change, and Forests

Water, Climate Change, and Forests PDF Author: Michael J. Furniss
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437939848
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Water from forested watersheds provides irreplaceable habitat for aquatic and riparian species and supports our homes, farms, industries, and energy production. Yet population pressures, land uses, and rapid climate change combine to seriously threaten these waters and the resilience of watersheds in most places. Forest land managers are expected to anticipate and respond to these threats and steward forested watersheds to ensure the sustained protection and provision of water and the services it provides. Contents of this report: (1) Intro.; (2) Background: Forests and Water; Climate Change: Hydrologic Responses and Ecosystem Services; (3) Moving Forward: Think; Collaborate; Act; (4) Closing; (5) Examples of Watershed Stewardship. Illus.

Suasco Watershed, Middlesex County

Suasco Watershed, Middlesex County PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Handbook of Water Resources Management: Discourses, Concepts and Examples

Handbook of Water Resources Management: Discourses, Concepts and Examples PDF Author: Janos J. Bogardi
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030601471
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 820

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Book Description
This book provides an overview of facts, theories and methods from hydrology, geology, geophysics, law, ethics, economics, ecology, engineering, sociology, diplomacy and many other disciplines with relevance for concepts and practice of water resources management. It provides comprehensive, but also critical reading material for all communities involved in the ongoing water discourses and debates. The book refers to case studies in the form of boxes, sections, or as entire chapters. They illustrate success stories, but also lessons to be remembered, to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Based on consolidated state-of-the-art knowledge, it has been conceived and written to attract a multidisciplinary audience. The aim of this handbook is to facilitate understanding between the participants of the international water discourse and multi-level decision making processes. Knowing more about water, but also about concepts, methods and aspirations of different professional, disciplinary communities and stakeholders professionalizes the debate and enhances the decision making.

Effects of Land Cover Change, Climate Variability, and Dynamic Water Storage on Systems Behavior

Effects of Land Cover Change, Climate Variability, and Dynamic Water Storage on Systems Behavior PDF Author: Mengqi Zhao
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
Enhancing the resilience and sustainability of the environment and human society is a challenge under climate change, rapid population growth, and globalization. Water has been recognized as one of the fundamental resources for all systems to persist. However, perturbations from human activities (e.g., climate change and land use management) and natural uncertainties keep bringing potential threats to water-related systems. This dissertation focuses on the impact of disturbances on behaviors of hydrological and water systems and the evaluation of appropriate management strategies toward the goal of improving system resilience. Chapter One describes the development of a grid-based Soil Moisture Routing hydrology model to provide temporal and spatial hydrological changes under land cover change in the Mica Creek Experimental Watershed in northern Idaho. Snowpack dynamics under different elevation, aspect, land cover, and climate conditions were analyzed at the point and watershed scale to identify hydrologically sensitive areas and to inform optimal harvest pattern at spatial scale. Chapter Two addresses co-management of storage in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus using an aggregated system dynamics (SD) model for evaluation of drought impacts on irrigation reliability within the Yakima River Basin. The SD model allocates available water resources to meet instream target flows, hydropower demands, and irrigation demand, based on system operation rules, irrigation scheduling, and water rights. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) was evaluated as an adaptation method to mitigate historical droughts. Chapter Three projects future climate scenarios in the SD model which includes MAR, greenhouses, crop planting time, and irrigation technology as adaptation methods. The interactions of environmental and social systems simulated the adoption of innovations and dynamic responses of water systems. Greenhouses were the most effective method in the absence of economic and resource constraints in improving irrigation reliability, whereas combining multiple innovations may better overcome the extreme climate at less cost. This dissertation demonstrates behaviors of different types of natural and human systems and provides insights to dynamic behaviors influenced by long-term adaptive management strategies.

Climate and Land Use Change Effects on Ecological Resources in Three Watersheds: a Synthesis Report

Climate and Land Use Change Effects on Ecological Resources in Three Watersheds: a Synthesis Report PDF Author: United States Government Environmental Protection Agency
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781481827546
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
During the early 2000s, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Research and Development, Global Change Research Program, supported three watershed assessments to evaluate different approaches and tools for understanding and managing climate and land-use change impacts on watershed ecological resources. Watershed assessments were conducted for (1) several small rivers in southern Maryland, (2) Arizona's San Pedro River, and (3) California's Sacramento River. In this report, we comparatively analyze the three case-study approaches in order to develop recommendations that may be useful as guidance to others conducting similar assessments. Key insights gained from these studies include: 1. Prioritize locations for studies to maximize decision support. 2. Target selection of stakeholders, establish credibility of underlying methods and models, and incorporate incentives for mutually beneficial results. 3. Provide essential climate science capabilities and tools to project teams. 4. Develop model linkages at the onset, carry out assessment activities at multiple scales, and require explicit uncertainty analysis of results. The watershed assessment case studies described in this report yield richness of detail in terms of methods and results, as well as inform more generally on best practices for conducting future watershed assessments. However these were pioneering studies addressing difficult and complex problems. Future assessments will continue to refine the understanding of how to maximize decision support, including providing necessary keystone capabilities and tools to effectively estimate climate change vulnerabilities, developing and supporting successful stakeholder processes, and characterizing uncertainty and scaling or transferring results to increase their relevance.

Climate Change and Land Use/Cover Change Impacts on Watershed Hydrology, Nutrient Dynamics -- a Case Study in Missisquoi River Watershed

Climate Change and Land Use/Cover Change Impacts on Watershed Hydrology, Nutrient Dynamics -- a Case Study in Missisquoi River Watershed PDF Author: Linyuan Shang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Climatic changes
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
Watershed regulation of water, carbon and nutrient dynamics support food, drinking water and human development. Projected climate changes and land use/cover change (LUCC) have been identified as drivers of watershed nutrient and hydrological processes and are likely to happen jointly in the future decades. Studying climate change and LUCC impacts on watersheds' streamflow and nutrients dynamics is therefore essential for future watershed management. This research aimed to unveil how climate change and LUCC affect water and nutrient dynamics in the Missisquoi River watershed, Vermont. We used 12 scenarios of future climate data (2021 - 2050) generated by three GCMs (ccsm4, mri-cgcm3, and gfdl-esm2m) under four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). For LUCC, we used three different scenarios generated by the Interactive Land Use Transition Agent-Based Model (ILUTABM). The three LUCC scenarios were Business As Usual (BAU), Prefer Forest (proForest), and Prefer Agriculture (proAg). New land use maps were generated every 10 years for the period of 2021 - 2050. Combining each climate change and LUCC scenario resulted in 36 scenarios that were used to drive Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation System (RHESSys) ecohydrological model. In chapter 3, we used RHESSys to study streamflow. We found climate was the main driver for streamflow because climate change directly controlled the system water input. For streamflow, climate change scenarios had larger impacts than LUCC, different LUCCs under the same climate change scenario had similar annual flow patterns. In chapter 4, we used RHESSys to study streamflow NO3-N and NH4-N load. Because fertilizer application is the major source for nitrogen export, LUCC had larger impacts; watersheds with more agricultural land had larger nitrogen loads. In chapter 5, we developed RHESSys-P by coupling the DayCent phosphorus module with RHESSys to study climate change and LUCC impacts on Dissolved Phosphorus (DP) load. RHESSys-P was calibrated with observed DP data for 2002 - 2004 and validated with data for 2009 - 2010. In both calibration and validation periods, simulated DP basically captured patterns of observed DP. In the validation period, the R2 of simulated vs observed DP was 0.788. Future projection results indicated BAU and proForest annual loads were around 4.0 x 104 kg under all climate change scenarios; proAg annual loads increased from around 4.0 x 104 kg in 2021 to 1.6 x 105 kg in 2050 under all climate change scenarios. The results showed LUCC was the dominant factor for dissolved phosphorus loading. Overall, our results suggest that, while climate drives streamflow, N and P fluxes are largely driven by land use and management decisions. To balance human development and environmental quality, BAU is a feasible future development strategy.

Handbook of Climate Change Impacts on River Basin Management

Handbook of Climate Change Impacts on River Basin Management PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781032753126
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Climate change is an alarming issue that has affected the globe at multiple levels. It involves not only rising temperatures but also changes to the original hydro-meteorological parameters of a region and the corresponding changes emerging in the various biotic or abiotic environmental features. Changing landscapes have become quite visible, and one of the prominent results of climate change has been the impact on the sediment yield and its transport. These changes have implications for various other environmental components, particularly soils, water bodies, water quality, land productivity, sedimentation processes, glacier dynamics, and risk management strategies to name a few. Understanding recent changes in sediment yield impacts due to changing climate will enhance the field of water resources management as well as land conservation techniques. This handbook examines hydrology, watershed, soil erosion, global climate change scenarios, changing dynamics of streamflow and erosion, impact of changing sediment dynamics, major problems associated with change in the original sediment balance in nature, the latest computing technologies incorporated in the studies, risk control and management measures. It also includes case studies from various countries, which will help illustrate the problem of climate change, as well as introducing region-specific approaches"--