| Title: | Simulation of sediment yield in a Semi-Arid River basin under changing land use: An integrated approach of hydrologic modelling and principal component analysis |
| Authors: | Gyamfi, C., J.M. Ndambuki and R. W. Salim |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Journal: | Sustainability |
| Volume (Issue): | 8(11) |
| Pages: | |
| Article ID: | 1133 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/su8111133 |
| URL (non-DOI journals): | |
| Model: | SWAT |
| Broad Application Category: | hydrologic and pollutant |
| Primary Application Category: | land use change |
| Secondary Application Category: | sediment loss and transport |
| Watershed Description: | 50,020 km^2 Upper Olifants River, located in northeast South Africa. |
| Calibration Summary: | |
| Validation Summary: | |
| General Comments: | |
| Abstract: | Intensified human activities over the past decades have culminated in the prevalence
of dire environmental consequences of sediment yield resulting mainly from land use changes.
Understanding the role that land use changes play in the dynamics of sediment yield would greatly
enhance decision-making processes related to land use and water resources management. In this
study, we investigated the impacts of land use and cover changes on sediment yield dynamics
through an integrated approach of hydrologic modelling and principal component analysis (PCA).
A three-phase land use scenario (2000, 2007 and 2013) employing the “fix-changing” method was used
to simulate the sediment yield of the Olifants Basin. Contributions in the changes in individual land
uses to sediment yield were assessed using the component and pattern matrixes of PCA. Our results
indicate that sediment yield dynamics in the study area is significantly attributed to the changes
in agriculture, urban and forested lands. Changes in agriculture and urban lands were directly
proportional to sediment yield dynamics of the Olifants Basin. On the contrary, forested areas
had a negative relationship with sediment yield indicating less sediment yield from these areas.
The output of this research work provides a simplistic approach of evaluating the impacts of land use
changes on sediment yield. The tools and methods used are relevant for policy directions on land
and water resources planning and management. |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | land use-land cover change (LULCC); Olifants Basin; principal component analysis;
sediment yield; SWAT |