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Land use/land cover changes and its impact on runoff using SWAT model in the upper Prek Thnot watershed in Cambodia

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Abstract

Land use/land cover changes (LULC) may result in water shortages, flood risk and soil erosion, contributing to the degradation of living situations. Therefore, studying the impacts of LULC changes on water resources is critical to watershed management. This study aims to determine LULC change and its impact on runoff and other hydrological components, including groundwater, water yield, percolation and evapotranspiration in the Upper Prek Thnot watershed from 2006 to 2018, by using SWAT modelling. Results showed that LULC of the Upper Prek Thnot watershed experienced such significant changes during these 13 years. The main modification in the study area was converting forest area into agricultural land, which accounts for 39%. This was followed by increased rubber plantation, built-up area, barren land and water bodies, and decreased wood shrubs. The changes in land use caused an increase in annual average surface runoff (36%), water yield (2%), and a decrease in groundwater (24%), percolation (8%) and evapotranspiration (1%). If the forest area is converted to agricultural land, mainly when the conversion occurs in large numbers, the hydrological elements will be significantly affected. Consequently, due to a noticeable alteration of LULC in the study area, a sound strategic management plan should be applied considerably to ensure ecosystem services sustainability in the watershed area.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) under the Graduate Scholarship Institutional Development (GSID) Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra, Serdang, Malaysia

    Norin Khorn, Mohd Hasmadi Ismail, Siti Nurhidayu & Norizah Kamarudin

  2. The Forestry Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Norin Khorn

  3. Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Product (INTROP), Universiti Putra, Serdang, Malaysia

    Norizah Kamarudin

  4. Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

    Mohd Sofiyan Sulaiman

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  1. Norin Khorn
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Khorn, N., Ismail, M.H., Nurhidayu, S. et al. Land use/land cover changes and its impact on runoff using SWAT model in the upper Prek Thnot watershed in Cambodia. Environ Earth Sci 81, 466 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10583-7

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