Abstract
In this study, the impacts of land use/land cover (LULC) and climate change on the streamflow and sediment yield were investigated for the Payaswani River Basin, Western Ghats, India. The LULC was determined using Landsat images, and climate data were procured from five general circulation models for representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 (moderate emission) and 8.5 (high emission). The land change modeler was used to derive the future LULC and its changes from 1988 (historical) to 2030 (future) by using the transition matrix method. The SWAT model was used to assess the impacts of LULC and climate change for the streamflow and sediment yield. The results showed that decrease in forests and grasslands and increase in plantation, agricultural, and urban areas from 1988 to 2030 would lead to an increase in the mean streamflow (11.23%) and sediment yield (17.41%). Under RCP 4.5, climate change would decrease the streamflow by 2.38% in 2030. However, under RCP 8.5, climate change would increase the streamflow by 0.12% in 2030. The sediment yield under RCP 4.5 and 8.5 would increase by 1.23% and 3.33%, respectively. In comparison with the baseline condition, by 2030 future changes in the LULC and climate would increase the streamflow by 7.05% and 11.71% under RCP 4.5 and 8.5, respectively. The sediment yield would increase by 7.92% and 27.11% under RCP 4.5 and 8.5, respectively. The streamflow and sediment yield were predicted to increase in the summer and winter but decrease in the monsoon season.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for the financial support to this study. We wish to express our deep gratitude to Central Water Commission and Indian Meteorological Department India for providing hydrological and meteorological data. The authors also acknowledge the sponsorship of the project entitled “Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in River Basin from Tadri to Kanyakumari” by INCCC, Ministry of Water Resources, Gov. of India, New Delhi. The first author acknowledges the helps Prof. Subimal Ghosh for his suggestions, help, and valuable guidance.
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
LULC maps for 1988, 1995, 2000, 2012, 2015, 2020, and 2030 for the PRB
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Sinha, R.K., Eldho, T.I. & Subimal, G. Assessing the impacts of historical and future land use and climate change on the streamflow and sediment yield of a tropical mountainous river basin in South India. Environ Monit Assess 192, 679 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08623-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08623-5