Abstract
This research makes use of the remote sensing, simulation modeling and field observations to assess the non-point source pollution load of a Himalayan lake from its catchment. The lake catchment, spread over an area of about 11 km2, is covered by different land cover types including wasteland (36%), rocky outcrops (30%), agriculture (12%), plantation (12.2%), horticulture (6.2%) and built-up (3.1%) The GIS-based distributed modeling approach employed relied on the use of geospatial data sets for simulating runoff, sediment, and nutrient (N and P) loadings from a watershed, given variable-size source areas, on a continuous basis using daily time steps for weather data and water balance calculations. The model simulations showed that the highest amount of nutrient loadings are observed during wet season in the month of March (905.65 kg of dissolved N, 10 kg of dissolved P, 10,386.81 kg of total N and 2,381.89 kg of total P). During the wet season, the runoff being the highest, almost all the excess soil nutrients that are trapped in the soil are easily flushed out and thus contribute to higher nutrient loading into the lake during this time period. The 11-year simulations (1994–2004) showed that the main source areas of nutrient pollution are agriculture lands and wastelands. On an average basis, the source areas generated about 3,969.66 kg/year of total nitrogen and 817.25 kg/year of total phosphorous. Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients of correlation between the daily observed and predicted nutrient load ranged in value from 0.80 to 0.91 for both nitrogen and phosphorus.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amy G, Pitt R, Singh R, Bradford WL, LaGrafti MB (1974) Water quality management planning for urban runoff. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (EPA-440/9-75-004)
Arhounditsis G, Giourga C, Loumou A, Koulouri M (2002) Quantitative assessment of agricultural runoff and soil erosion using mathematical modelling: application in the Mediterranean Region. Environ Manag 30(3):434–453
ASCE (Task Committee on Definition of Criteria for Evaluation of Watershed Models of the Watershed Management Committee, Irrigation and Drainage Division) (1993) Criteria for evaluation of watershed models. J Irrig Drain Eng 199(3)
Baddar B, Romhoo SA (2007) Modeling the non-point source pollution in the Dal Lake catchment using geospatial tools. J Environ Dev 2(1):21–30
Bagnolus F, Meher-Homji VM (1959) Bioclimatic types of southeast Asia. Travaux de la Section Scientific at Technique Institut Franscis de Pondicherry, 227
Burrough PA (1986) Principles of geographic information systems for land resources assessment. Oxford Press, Oxford
EPA (2003a) Modelling report for Wissahickon Creek, Pennsylvania. Siltation TDML Development Final Report. US Environmental Protection Agency, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
EPA (2003b) Nutrient and sediment TMDAL development for the unnamed tributary to Bush run and upper portions of Bush Run Allegheny and Washington counties. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Philadelphia
Evans BM, Corradini KJ (2007) PRedICT Version 2.0: users guide for the pollutant reduction impact comparison tool. Penn State Institute of Energy and Environment, The Pennsylvania State University, pp 44
Evans BM, Lehning DW, Corradini KJ, Petersen GW, Nizeyimana E, Nizeyimana E, Hamlett JM, Robillard PD, Day RL (2002) A comprehensive GIS-based modelling approach for predicting nutrient load in watershed. Spat Hydrol 2(2):1–18
Evans BM, Lehning DW, Corradini KJ (2008) AVGWLF Version 7.1: users guide. Penn State Institute of Energy and Environment, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA, pp 117
FAO (1998) Crop evapotranspiration: guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56, Rome
Frankenberger JR, Brooks ES, Walter MT, Walter MF, Steenhuis TS (1999) A GIS-based variable source area hydrology model. Hydrol Process 13:805–822
Ghosh AB, Bajaj JC, Hason R, Singh D (1983) Soil and water testing methods: a laboratory manual. IARI, New Delhi
Haan CT (1972) A water yield model for small watersheds. Water Resour Res 8(1):58–69
Haith DA (1987) Evaluation of daily rainfall erosivity model. Trans Am Soc Agric Eng 30(1):90–93
Haith DA, Shoemaker LL (1987) Generalized watershed loading functions for stream flow nutrients. Water Resour Bull 23(3):471–478
Haith DA, Mandel R, Shyan WR (1992) Generalized watershed loading functions model: users manual. Ithaca, New York, USA, pp 148–153
Hamon WR (1961) Estimating potential evapotranspiration. ASCE J Hydraul Div 87(3HY):107–120
Hartkamp AD, White JW, Hoogenboom G (1999) Interfacing geographic information system with agronomic modeling: a review. Agron J 91:761–772
Hession CW, Shanholtz VO (1988) A geographic information system for targeting nonpoint source agricultural pollution. J Soil Water Conserv 43:264–266
Hinaman KC (1993) Use of geographic information systems to assemble input-data sets for a finite difference model of ground water flow. Water Resour Bull 29:401–405
Jeelani G, Shah AQ (2006) Geochemical characterization of water and sediment from the Dal Lake, Kashmir Himalaya, India: constraints on weathering and anthropogenic activity. Env Geol 50:12–23
Jeelani G, Shah AQ (2007) Hydrochemistry of Dal Lake of Kashmir Valley. J Appl Geochem 9(1):120–134
Johnes PJ (1999) Understanding lake and catchment history as a tool for integrated lake management. Hydrobiologia 396:41–60
Kaul V (1977) Limnological survey of Kashmir lakes with reference to tropic status and conservation. Int J India Environ Sci 3:29–44
Kaul V (1979) Water characteristics of some fresh water bodies of Kashmir. Curr Trends Life Sci 9:221–246
Kaul V, Handoo JK, Qadri BA (1977) Seasons of Kashmir. Geogr. Rev. India. 41(2):123–130
Khan MA (2000) Anthropogenic eutrophication and red tide outbreak in lacustrine systems of the Kashmir Himalaya. Acta Hydrochim Hydrobiol (Weinheim) 28:95–101
Khan MA (2008) Chemical environment and nutrient fluxes in a flood plain wetland ecosystem, Kashmir Himalayas, India. Indian For 134(4):505–514
Khan S, Romshoo SA (2008) Integrated analysis of geomorphic, pedologic and remote sensing data for digital soil mapping. J Himal Ecol Sustain Dev 3(1):39–50
Koul VK, Davis W, Zutshi DP (1990) Calcite super-saturation in some subtropical Kashmir Himalayan lakes. Hydrobiologia 192(2–3):215–222
Kuo JT, Wu JH (1994) A nutrient model for a lake with time variable volumes. Water Sci Technol 24(6):133–139
Lee KY, Fisher T, Rochelle NE (2001) Modeling the hydrochemistry of the Choptank River basin using GWLF and Arc/Info:2. Model validation and application. Biochemistry 56(3):311–348
Liao H, Tim US (1997) An interactive modeling environment for nonpoint source pollution control. J Am Water Resour Assoc (JAWRA) 33(3):591–603
Lung WS (1986) Assessing phosphorous control in the James River Basin. J Environ Eng 112(1):44–60
Melesse AM, Weng Q, Prasad S, Thenkabail PS, Senay GB (2007) Remote sensing sensors and applications in environmental resource mapping and modeling. Sensor 7(12):3209–3241
Mitish WJ, Day JW, Gilliam JW (2001) Reducing nitrogen loading to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin: strategies to counter a persistent ecological problem. Biosciences 5(5):373–388
Montanrella L, Jones RJ, Knijff JM (2000) Soil Erosion Risk Assessment in Europe. The European Soil Bureau
Moore ID, Grayson RB, Brursch GJ (1988) A contour-based topographic model for hydrological and ecological applications. Earth Surf Proc Landf 13:305–320
Muslim M, Romshoo SA, Bhat SA (2008) Modelling the pollution load of Manasbal Lake using remote sensing and GIS. In: Proceedings of the 4th annual symposium of the Indian Society of Geomatics (Geomatica 2008), Bhopal, India, 18–20 Feb, 2008
Nakamura F, Kameyama S, Mizugaki S (2004) Rapid shrinkage of Kushiro Mire, the largest mire in Japan, due to increased sedimentation associated with land-use development in the catchment. Catena 55(2):213–229
National Remote Sensing Agency (2003) IRS-P6 data user’s handbook. NRSA Report No. IRS-P6/NRSA/NDC/HB-10/03
Olivera F, Maidment DR (1999) Geographic information systems (GIS)-based spatially distributed model for runoff routing. Water Resour Res 35(4):1155–1164
Olivieri LJ, Schaal GM, Logan TJ, Elliot WJ, Motch B (1991) Generating AGNPS input using remote sensing and GIS. Paper 91–2622. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan
Omernik JM, Abermathy AR, Male LM (1981) Stream nutrient levels and proximity of agriculture and forest land to streams: some relationships. J Soil Water Conserv 36(4):227–231
Osborne LL, Wiley MJ (1988) Empirical relationship between land use/cover and stream water quality in an agricultural watershed. J Environ Manag 26:9–27
Pandit AK (1998) Trophic evolution of lakes in Kashmir Himalayas: conservation of lakes in Kashmir Himalayas. In: Pandit AK (ed) Natural resources in Kashmir Himalayas. Valley book House, Srinagar, Kashmir, pp 178–214
Pavanelli D, Bigi A (2004) Indirect analysis method to estimate suspended sediment concentration: reliability and relationship of turbidity and settleable solids. Biosyst Eng 83:463–468
Perry J, Vanderklein E (1996) Water quality management of a natural resource. Blackwell Science, Cambridge, USA, p 639
Prakash B, Teeter LD, Lockay BG, Flynn KM (2000) The use of remote sensing and GIS in watershed level analyses of non-point source pollution problems. For Ecol Manag 128:65–73
Raterman B, Schaars FW, Giffioen M (2001) GIS and MATLAB integrated for ground water modeling. In: 21st annual ESRI international user conference, San Diego, California. Available at http://gis.esri.com/library/userconf/proc01/professional/papers/pap600/p600.htm. Accessed on 19 October 2004
Rodriguez E, Morris CS, Belz JE (2006) A global assessment of SRTM performance. Photogramm Eng Remote Sens 72:249–260
Romshoo SA (2003) Radar remote sensing for monitoring of dynamic ecosystem processes related to the biogeochemical exchanges in tropical peatlands. Vis Geosci 8:63–82
Saini RK, Swain S, Patra A, Geelani G, Gupta H, Purushothaman P, Chakrapani GJ (2008) Water chemistry of three Himalayan lakes: Dal (Jammu and Kashmir), Khajjiar (Himachal Pradesh) and Nainital (Uttarakhand). Himal Geol 29(1):63–72
Sample DJ, Heaney JP, Wright LT, Koustas R (2001) Geographic information systems, decision support systems, and urban storm water management. J Water Resour Plan Manag 127(3):155–161
Sartor JD, Boyd GB (1972) Water pollution aspects of street surface contaminants. EPA-R2/72-081, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Schowengerdt R (1983) Techniques for image processing and classification in remote sensing. Academic, New York
SCS (1986) Urban hydrology for small watersheds. Soil Conservation Services. 55 (2)
Shamsi UM (1996) Storm-water management implementation through modeling and GIS. J Water Resour Plan Manag 122(2):114–127
Steward BA, Woolhiser DA, Wischmeier WH, Carol JH, Frere MH (1975) Control of water pollution from cropland. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington
Strobe RO (2002) Water quality monitoring network design methodology for the identification of critical sampling points. PhD thesis, Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania
Thiemann S, Kaufmann H (2000) Determination of chlorophyll content and trophic state of lakes using field spectrometer and IRS-IC satellite data in the Mecklenburg Lake District, Germany. Remote Sens Environ 73:235–277
Thomann RV, Mueller JA (1987) Principles of surface water quality modelling and control. Harper and Row, New York, p 644
Thuman OE, Andrew, Rees TA (2003) Watershed and water quality modeling analytical report, Triad Engineering Incorporated, Indianapolis, Indaina, 46219
Tim US, Mostaghimi S, Shanholtz VO (1992) Identification of critical nonpoint pollution source areas using geographic information systems and water quality modeling. Water Resour Bull 28:877–887
Tolson BA, Shoemaker CA (2007) Cannonsville reservoir watershed SWAT2000 model development, calibration and validation. J Hydrol 337(1–2):68–86
Toogood JA (1958) A simplified textural classification diagram. Can J Soil Sci 38:54–55
Trisal CL (1985) Trophic status of Kashmir Valley lakes. Geobios Spl. Vol-I.17179. In: Mishra SD, Sen DN, Ahmed I (eds) Proc Nat Sympos Evalua Environ, Jodhpur, India
Vanori VA (1975) Sediment engineering. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York
Veihmeyer FJ, Hendricjson AH (1931) The moisture equivalent as a measure of the field capacity of soils. Soil Sci 32:181–194
Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An estimation of Degtijareff method for determination of soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chronic acid titration method. Soil Sci 34:29–38
Wischmeier WH, Smith DD (1978) Predicting rainfall erosion losses a guide to conservation planning. US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC
Wong KM, Strecker EW, Strenstrom MK (1997) GIS to estimate storm-water pollutant mass loadings. J Environ Eng 123(8):737–745
Young RA, Onstad CA, Bosch DD, Anderson WP (1989) AGNPS, a nonpoint source pollution model for evaluating agricultural watersheds. J Soil Water Conserv 44:168–173
Young SA, Nakamura F, Mizugaki S (2008) Hydrology, suspended sediment dynamics and nutrient loading in Lake Takkobu, a degrading lake ecosystem in Kushiro Mire, Northern Japan. Environ Monit Assess 145:267–281
Yuksel A, Akay AE, Gundogan R, Reis M, Cetiner M (2008) Application of GeoWEPP for determining sediment yield and runoff in the Orcan Creek watershed in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Sensors 8(2):1222–1236
Zollweg JA, Gburek WJ, Steenhuis TS (1996) SMoRMOD: a GIS integrated rainfall-runoff model. Trans ASAE 39:1299–1307
Zutshi DP, Kaul V, Vass KK (1972) Limnological studies of high altitude Kashmir lakes. Verh Inter Verin Limnol 118:599–604
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Space Applications Center (SAC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India, under the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment project. The authors express gratitude to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their valuable comments and suggestions on the earlier manuscript version that improved the content and structure of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Romshoo, S.A., Muslim, M. Geospatial modeling for assessing the nutrient load of a Himalayan lake. Environ Earth Sci 64, 1269–1282 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0944-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-0944-9