Investigating the effects of small dams and land use changes on hydrological processes using SWAT in Kordan watershed

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1- Groundwater and Geothermal Research Center (GRC), Water and Environment Research Institute, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effects of watershed management operations including check dams and vegetation restorations on the amount of runoff and hydrological processes of the catchment. For this purpose, the Kordan watershed located in Alborz province, with an area of 357 square kilometers was selected, where the mentioned operations have been performed in parts and predicted for most parts. In addition, the SWAT model was used to simulate monthly hydrological components. The model was calibrated for a 14-year period (1998-2012) and validated for a 4-year period from early 2013 to late 2016. Statistical coefficients of calibration period NS = 0.88 and R2 = 0.91 and validation period NS = 80 and R2 = 0.85 confirmed the model calibrated well. The simulation results of the model for the period 1998 to 2016 showed that the total surface runoff and lateral flow were 21 and 18% of the average annual rainfall and subsurface flow was about 20%, respectively. Applying different scenarios showed that the combination of biological operations (e.g. land cover rehabilitation) along with mechanical structure operations (e.g. check dams) made maximum effects on runoff reduction, so that almost all of the high drainage and steep surface runoff in the basin will be gentle. In these conditions, the direct runoff of the basin decreases from 39% to 16%. Therefore, combinational operations have significant effects on flood control, runoff reduction and consequently increase subsurface flow components.

Keywords


  • Uhlenbrook S. Catchment hydrology—a science in which all processes are preferential. Hydrological Processes. 2006;20(16):3581-5.
  • Meaurio M, Zabaleta A, Uriarte JA, Srinivasan R, Antigüedad I. Evaluation of SWAT models performance to simulate streamflow spatial origin. The case of a small forested watershed. Journal of Hydrology. 2015;525:326-34.
  • Habets F, Molénat J, Carluer N, Douez O, Leenhardt D. The cumulative impacts of small reservoirs on hydrology: A review. Science of The Total Environment. 2018;643:850-67.
  • Valdes-Abellan J, Pardo Picazo MÁ, Tenza-Abril AJ. Observed precipitation trend changes in the western Mediterranean region. 2017.
  • Boithias L, Sauvage S, Lenica A, Roux H, Abbaspour KC, Larnier K, et al. Simulating Flash Floods at Hourly Time-Step Using the SWAT Model. Water. 2017;9(12):929.
  • Arnold JG, Srinivasan R, Muttiah RS, Williams JR. LARGE AREA HYDROLOGIC MODELING AND ASSESSMENT PART I: MODEL DEVELOPMENT1. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 1998;34(1):73-89.
  • Santhi C, Arnold JG, Williams JR, Dugas WA, Srinivasan R, Hauck LM. VALIDATION OF THE SWAT MODEL ON A LARGE RWER BASIN WITH POINT AND NONPOINT SOURCES1. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 2001;37(5):1169-88.
  • Tuppad P, Kannan N, Srinivasan R, Rossi CG, Arnold JG. Simulation of Agricultural Management Alternatives for Watershed Protection. Water Resources Management. 2010;24(12):3115-44.
  • Van Liew MW, Arnold JG, Garbrecht JD. HYDROLOGIC SIMULATION ON AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS: CHOOSING BETWEEN TWO MODELS. Transactions of the ASAE. 2003;46(6):1539-51.
  • Srinivasan R, Zhang X, Arnold J. SWAT Ungauged: Hydrological Budget and Crop Yield Predictions in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Transactions of the ASABE. 2010:Medium: X; Size: p. 1533-46.
  • Veith TL, Sharpley AN, Weld JL, Gburek WJ. COMPARISON OF MEASURED AND SIMULATED PHOSPHORUS LOSSES WITH INDEXED SITE VULNERABILITY. Transactions of the ASAE. 2005;48(2):557-65.
  • Behera S, Panda RK. Evaluation of management alternatives for an agricultural watershed in a sub-humid subtropical region using a physical process based model. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2006;113(1):62-72.
  • Parajuli PB. Assessing sensitivity of hydrologic responses to climate change from forested watershed in Mississippi. Hydrological Processes. 2010;24(26):3785-97.
  • Zhou G, Wei X, Wu Y, Liu S, Huang Y, Yan J, et al. Quantifying the hydrological responses to climate change in an intact forested small watershed in Southern China. Global Change Biology. 2011;17(12):3736-46.
  • Tamm O, Maasikamäe S, Padari A, Tamm T. Modelling the effects of land use and climate change on the water resources in the eastern Baltic Sea region using the SWAT model. CATENA. 2018;167:78-89.
  • Shahoei, Porhemmat J, Sedghi, Hosseini M, Saremi M. Daily runoff simulation in Ravansar Sanjabi basin, Kermanshah, Iran, using remote sensing through SRM model and comparison to SWAT model. APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 2017;15:1843-62.
  • Shafiei Motlagh K, Porhemmat J, Sedghi H, Hosseini M. Application of swat model in assessing the impact of land use change in runoff of Maroon river in Iran. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research. 2018;16:5481-502.
  • Biemans H, Haddeland I, Kabat P, Ludwig F, Hutjes RWA, Heinke J, et al. Impact of reservoirs on river discharge and irrigation water supply during the 20th century. Water Resources Research. 2011;47(3).
  • Chao BF, Wu YH, Li YS. Impact of Artificial Reservoir Water Impoundment on Global Sea Level. Science. 2008;320(5873):212-4.

 

  • Zhou T, Nijssen B, Gao H, Lettenmaier DP. The Contribution of Reservoirs to Global Land Surface Water Storage Variations. Journal of Hydrometeorology. 2016;17(1):309-25.
  • Li E, Mu X, Zhao G, Gao P, Sun W. Effects of check dams on runoff and sediment load in a semi-arid river basin of the Yellow River. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment. 2017;31(7):1791-803.
  • Norman LM, Niraula R. Model analysis of check dam impacts on long-term sediment and water budgets in Southeast Arizona, USA. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology. 2016;16(3):125-37.
  • Azarakhshi M, Rostami Khalaj M. Assessment of Land Suitability Impacts on Runoff Values using SWAT Model (Case Study: Karde Watershed). Iranian journal of Ecohydrology. 2019;6(1):65-76.
  • Kang MS, Park SW, Lee JJ, Yoo KH. Applying SWAT for TMDL programs to a small watershed containing rice paddy fields. Agricultural Water Management. 2006;79(1):72-92.
  • Winchell M, Srinivasan R, Di Luzio M, Arnold J. ArcSWAT Interface for SWAT 2012. User's Guide. Blackland Research and Extension Center; 2013.
  • Abbaspour KC. SWAT-CUP 2012: SWAT Calibration and Uncertainty Programs—A User Manual. Switzerland: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology; 2014.
  • Rostamian R, Jaleh A, Afyuni M, Mousavi SF, Heidarpour M, Jalalian A, et al. Application of a SWAT model for estimating runoff and sediment in two mountainous basins in central Iran. Hydrological Sciences Journal. 2008;53(5):977-88.
  • Sazeh-Ab-Shafagh Consultancy Engineering Company. Comperehensive - Executive Studies of Aghasht Watershed of Savojbolagh. Alborz Province: 2016[Persian].
  • Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Institute. Comperehensive - Executive Studies of Talian Watershed of Savojbolagh. Alborz Province: 2018[Persian].
  • Sabz-AndishPayesh Consultancy Engineering Company. Comperehensive - Executive Studies of Baraghan Watershed of Savojbolagh. Alborz Province: 2018[Persian].
  • Xu ZX, Pang JP, Liu CM, Li JY. Assessment of runoff and sediment yield in the Miyun Reservoir catchment by using SWAT model. Hydrological Processes. 2009;23(25):3619-30.
Volume 9, Issue 1
April 2022
Pages 97-109
  • Receive Date: 10 September 2021
  • Revise Date: 21 November 2021
  • Accept Date: 31 January 2022
  • First Publish Date: 21 March 2022
  • Publish Date: 21 March 2022