Flow discharge simulation based on land use change predictions

• Published in: Environmental earth sciences 2017-08, Vol.76 (16), p.1-17, Article 588
• Main Authors: Kavian, Ataollah, Golshan, Mohammad, Abdollahi, Zahra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biogeosciences; Calibration; Computer simulation; Discharge; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Environmental degradation; Environmental Science and Engineering; Evaporation; Geochemistry; Geology; Hydrologic models; Hydrologic processes; Hydrology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Irrigated farming; Land use; Markov chains; Methods; Model accuracy; Original Article; Prediction models; Residential areas; Rivers; Runoff; Simulation; Stream discharge; Stream flow; Terrestrial Pollution; Water resources; Watersheds
• ISSN: 1866-6280; 1866-6299
• DOI: 10.1007/s12665-017-6906-0

Haraz River is one of the most important rivers in Iran, which has been faced with successive inappropriate land use changes and environmental degradation practices in recent decades. In this way, the impact of land use changes on stream flow generation, evaporation and hydrological processes of the Haraz basin has been studied. Land use maps for the years of 1988, 2000 and 2013 were prepared and assessed for any changes in land use using land change modeler and logistic regression methods. GEOMOD method was also used for accuracy tests of models. The calibration periods of 1988–2000, 1988–2013 and also Markov chain with hard prediction model were applied in order to predict the future land use for 2025. Besides, SWAT model was used to evaluate the watershed-scale impacts of land use change. Evaluating the calibration periods using GEOMOD method and some parameters showed a more accurate prediction for the period of 1988–2013 than the 1988–2000 period. Likewise, the results indicated that the rate of changes from 2013 to 2025 will be decreased in terms of forest and range lands (6751.05 and 168,09.01 ha, respectively) and will be increased in terms of residential areas, irrigated farming, gardens and bare lands up to 1567.2, 1405.68, 3039.38 and 174,05.55 ha, respectively. The assessment of model efficiency showed that the SWAT model has acceptable performance to simulate the flow discharge. Overall, the model outcomes indicated that land use changes lead to increase the average runoff in the study area. As a matter of fact, this issue has significant effects on water resources, economic and social situations, and hence, efficient strategies are needed for an integrated management in the Haraz basin.