Sustainability in the Food-Water-Ecosystem Nexus: The Role of Land Use and Land Cover Change for Water Resources and Ecosystems in the Kilombero Wetland, Tanzania

Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) has a significant impact on water resources and ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). On the basis of three research projects we aim to describe and discuss the potential, uncertainties, synergies and science-policy interfaces of satellite-based integrated resear...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2017-08, Vol.9 (9), p.1513
Main Authors: Leemhuis, Constanze, Thonfeld, Frank, Näschen, Kristian, Steinbach, Stefanie, Muro, Javier, Strauch, Adrian, López, Ander, Daconto, Giuseppe, Games, Ian, Diekkrüger, Bernd
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic ecosystems
Catchment areas
Catchment scale
Catchments
Climate change
Computer simulation
Cooperation
Ecosystems
Environmental changes
Environmental degradation
Floodplains
Food
Hydrology
Image classification
Interfaces
Land cover
Land use
Landsat
Moisture content
Natural resources
Public awareness
Remote sensing
Research projects
River ecology
Satellite imagery
Soil water
Spatial distribution
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Water balance
Water resources
Wetlands
Wildlife
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Summary:Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) has a significant impact on water resources and ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). On the basis of three research projects we aim to describe and discuss the potential, uncertainties, synergies and science-policy interfaces of satellite-based integrated research for the Kilombero catchment, comprising one of the major agricultural utilized floodplains in Tanzania. LULCC was quantified at the floodplain and catchment scale analyzing Landsat 5 and Sentinel 2 satellite imagery applying different adapted classification methodologies. LULC maps at the catchment scale serve as spatial input for the distributed, process-based ecohydrological model SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) simulating the changes in the spatial and temporal water balance in runoff components caused by LULCC. The results reveal that over the past 26 years LULCC has significantly altered the floodplain and already shows an impact on the ecosystem by degrading the existing wildlife corridors. On the catchment scale the anomalies of the water balance are still marginal, but with the expected structural changes of the catchment there is an urgent need to increase the public awareness and knowledge of decision makers regarding the effect of the relationship between LULCC, water resources and environmental degradation.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su9091513