Application of Integrated Watershed Management Measures to Minimize the Land Use Change Impacts

Abstract

Non-point source pollution is a major factor in excessive nutrient pollution that can result in the eutrophication. Land use/land cover (LULC) change, as a result of urbanization and agricultural intensification (e.g., increase in the consumption of fertilizers), can intensify this pollution. An informed LULC planning needs to consider the negative impacts of such anthropogenic activities to minimize the impact on water resources. The objective of this study was to inform future land use planning by considering nutrient reduction goals. We modeled the LULC dynamics and determined the capacity for future agricultural development by considering its impacts on nitrate runoff at a watershed scale in the Tajan River Watershed in northeastern Iran. We used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate the in-stream nitrate concentration on a monthly timescale in this watershed. Historical LULCs (years 1984, 2001 and 2010) were derived via remote sensing and were applied within the Land Change Modeler to project future LULC in 2040 under a business-as-usual scenario. To reduce nitrate pollution in the watershed and ecological protection, a conservation scenario was developed using a multi-criteria evaluation method. The results indicated that the implementation of the conservation scenario can substantially reduce the nitrate runoff (up to 72%) compared to the business-as-usual scenario. These results can potentially inform regional policy makers in strategic LULC planning and minimizing the impact of nitrate pollution on watersheds. The proposed approach can be used in other watersheds for informed land use planning by considering nutrient reduction goals.

The Delineation of Watersheds in the Dhenkanal District, Odisha, India; Using Arc-GIS

“…Water scarcity is the result of erratic climate change at present with the proliferation of Escherichia coli (E-coli) effluent discharge and basin runoff of a watershed that threats human health and security, [6], Bunch et al [7], Sharifi et al [8]. Water-shed management for an integrated water resource (WR) supervision strategy warrants upcoming water use for drinking, portability, and irrigation requirement declines in dry periods with physiochemical parameters having high ranges of pH, Total dissolved Solids (TDS), and DO enabling the watershed ecology deteriorated, Kellner et al 2017, Rajaein et al 2021 [9]. Submission of Integrated Watershed Management (IWSM) Curtails the Land Use (LU) alteration Influences, [10].…”

Assessment of landcover impacts on the groundwater quality using hydrogeochemical and geospatial techniques

“…For environmental managers, the capacity to conduct a geographical analysis of groundwater quality is becoming easy due to much advancement in the development of tools. Furthermore, these tools can be used to investigate the relationship between LULC changes and groundwater quality (Henri et al, 2021;Rajaei et al, 2021) (Chacha et al, 2018). With advanced tools, spatial analysis of groundwater quality is now more e cient, enabling a better understanding of environmental factors and groundwater quality relationships.…”

Monitoring Quality and Pollution Assessment of Groundwater for Drinking Purposes to Assure Sustainability

“…Furthermore, it is necessary to measure other quality parameters, especially nitrate and phosphate because the development of agriculture and subsequent use of chemical fertilizers increase the emission of these pollutants. As a result, it is advised that future research on various groundwater resource quality metrics take into account not just their historical patterns but also potential alterations [14,15].…”