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Assessing the effect of watershed slopes on recharge/baseflow and soil erosion

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Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems are threatened by increasing variability in the hydrologic responses. In particular, the health of river ecosystems in steeply sloping watersheds is aggravated due to soil erosion and stream depletion during dry periods. This study suggested and assessed a method to improve the adaptation ability of a river system in a steep watershed. For this, this study calibrated soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) for runoff and sediment, and quantified the changes in hydrologic responses such as groundwater recharge rate soil erosion and baseflow according to two scenarios for adjustment of the watershed slope (steep to mild). Here, one scenario was set by three measured slopes, and the other was set by fixing the entire watershed slopes with 5 %. Moreover, SWAT and web-based hydrograph analysis tool (WHAT) models were applied to estimate groundwater recharge, soil erosion, and baseflow in the Haean-myeon watershed in South Korea. The results show that the reduction of watershed slope increased groundwater recharge and baseflow, and decreased sediment. Specifically, groundwater recharge rate was increased from 257.10 to 364.60 mm, baseflow was increased from 0.86 to 1.19 m3/s, and sediment was decreased from 194.6 to 58.1 kg/km2. Based on these results, the suggested method will positively contribute to aquatic ecosystems and farming environments in a steeply sloping watershed due to improvements in the quantity and quality of river water.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Eco-Star Project (No: EW32-07-10) in Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Regional Infrastructures Engineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea

    Ji Min Lee, Donghyuk Kum & Kyoung Jae Lim

  2. Institute of Environmental Research, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea

    Youn Shik Park & Younghun Jung

  3. Dept. of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea

    Bomchul Kim

  4. Dept. of Environmental Health Science, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea

    Soon Jin Hwang

  5. POSCO E&C, R&D Center, Incheon, Korea

    Hyun Bae Kim

  6. Center for Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea

    Chulgoo Kim

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  1. Ji Min Lee
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  9. Kyoung Jae Lim
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Correspondence to Younghun Jung.

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Lee, J.M., Park, Y.S., Kum, D. et al. Assessing the effect of watershed slopes on recharge/baseflow and soil erosion. Paddy Water Environ 12 (Suppl 1), 169–183 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-014-0448-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-014-0448-9

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