Impact of water management interventions on hydrology and ecosystem services in Garhkundar-Dabar watershed of Bundelkhand region, Central India

Abstract

Bundelkhand region of Central India is a hot spot of water scarcity, land degradation, poverty and poor socioeconomic status. Impacts of integrated watershed development (IWD) interventions on water balance and different ecosystem services are analyzed in one of the selected watershed of 850 ha in Bundelkhand region. Improved soil, water and crop management interventions in Garhkundar-Dabar (GKD) watershed of Bundelkhand region in India enhanced ET to 64% as compared to 58% in untreated (control) watershed receiving 815 mm annual average rainfall. Reduced storm flow (21% vs. 34%) along with increased base flow (4.5% vs. 1.2%) and groundwater recharge (11% vs. 7%) of total rainfall received were recorded in treated watershed as compared to untreated control watershed. Economic Water productivity and total income increased from 2.5 to 5.0 INR m À3 and 11,500 to 27,500 INR ha À1 yr À1 after implementing integrated watershed development interventions in GKD watershed, respectively. Moreover IWD interventions helped in reducing soil loss more than 50% compared to control watershed. The results demonstrated that integrated watershed management practices addressed issues of poverty in GKD watershed. Benefit to cost ratio of project interventions was found three and pay back period within four years suggest economic feasibility to scale-up IWD interventions in Bundelkhend region. Scaling-up of integrated watershed management in drought prone rainfed areas with enabling policy and institutional support is expected to promote equity and livelihood along with strengthening various ecosystem services, however, region-specific analysis is needed to assess trade-offs for downstream areas along with onsite impact.

Model Estimation of Water Use Efficiency for Soil Conservation in the Lower Heihe River Basin, Northwest China during 2000–2008

“…In its broadest sense, the water use efficiency is the net return for a unit of water used [11], and in previous research the crop water use efficiency is expressed as the amount of grain yield (e.g., kilograms of grain) obtained per unit of water consumption (e.g., cubic meters of water) [19,40]. Besides, depending on the type of water sources considered, crop water use efficiency is generally expressed as grain yield per unit water evapotranspired or grain yield per unit total water input (irrigation plus rainfall) [40].…”

“…Besides, depending on the type of water sources considered, crop water use efficiency is generally expressed as grain yield per unit water evapotranspired or grain yield per unit total water input (irrigation plus rainfall) [40]. For example, there are three major definitions of water use efficiency that are widely used, i.e., (1) Gross primary production (GPP) based water use efficiency: GPP/ET; (2) Net primary productivity (NPP) based water use efficiency: NPP/ET; (3) Net ecosystem carbon production (NEP) based water use efficiency: NEP/ET [20].…”

Quantifying the impact of integrated watershed management on groundwater availability in Gerduba watershed, Yabello district, Ethiopia

“…But it could be reversed through integrated watershed management with a positive impact on groundwater balance as well as ecosystem. According to a study carried out by Singh et al (2014), at GarhkundarDabar watershed in India, treated and untreated watershed were compared in which the treatment decreased rainstorm flow (21 vs. 34%) together with increased base flow (4.5 vs. 1.2%) and groundwater recharge (11 vs. 7%) relative to total rainfall received. These led to regulation of the velocity of surface runoff generation and created opportunities for percolation and recharge of groundwater.…”

A Geospatial Approach to Analyze the Impact of Population Growth on Bundelkhand Landscape, Central India

“…Banda, the largest and highly populated district of this region is influenced by several environmental problems such as rainfall uncertainty, ground water depletion, drought and global warming [16]. In the Bundelkhand region, very few studies have been done using geospatial techniques to analyse the urbanization growth and its impact on natural resources as well in local climate and are limited to explore the basal topography and water resources management [16], [17], [18]. Hence the study were undertaken to analyze the population growth, urbanization trend, landscape changes with respect to land surface temperature changes for the sustainability of the Bundelkhand region, Central India.…”