| Title: | Effects of land use changes on streamflow and sediment yield in Atibaia River Basin—SP, Brazil |
| Authors: | dos Santos, F.M., R.P. de Oliveira and J.A. Di Lollo |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Journal: | Water |
| Volume (Issue): | 12(6) |
| Pages: | |
| Article ID: | 1711 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/w12061711 |
| URL (non-DOI journals): | |
| Model: | SWAT |
| Broad Application Category: | hydrologic & pollutant |
| Primary Application Category: | land use change |
| Secondary Application Category: | sediment loss and transport |
| Watershed Description: | 2,837.3 km^2 Atibaia river, located primarily in the state of São Paulo in southeast Brazil. |
| Calibration Summary: | |
| Validation Summary: | |
| General Comments: | |
| Abstract: | The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is often used to evaluate the impacts of
different land use scenarios on streamflow and sediment yield, but there is a need for some clear
recommendations on how to select the parameter set that defines a given land use scenario and on
what is the most appropriate methodology to change the selected parameters when describing possible
future conditions. This paper reviews the SWAT formulation to identify the parameters that depend on
the land use, performs a sensitivity analysis to determine the ones with larger impacts on the model
results and discusses ways to consider future land use conditions. The case study is the Atibaia river
basin, with 2838 km2
(São Paulo, Brazil). The parameters identified by sensitivity analysis with the
largest impacts on streamflow and sediment yield were the initial curve number for moisture condition
II (CN), maximum canopy storage for each land use (CANMX) and the cover and management factor
(USLE_C). The identification and appropriate parameter change can provide real estimates of the
magnitudes in the land use changes, which were verified in this study. Such information can be used
as an instrument for proposing improvements in the basin’s environmental quality and management. |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | SWAT; scenarios; land use; river basin |