Understanding how dynamics in individual land use types influence changes in streamflow is vital. Most hydrological studies are based on paired catchment and modelling approaches. These are data intensive and require a long period of monitoring. To determine the hydrological effects of tropical vegetation conversion over large areas, it is manageable to study the same basin over different time periods. The study analysed changes in historical stream flow patterns with reference to dynamics in land cover in C52A quaternary catchment of South Africa. Landsat images for years 1993, 2004 and 2013 were used for the development of land cover maps. Subsequently, step-change (median point change, Mann-Whitney and Kruskall Willis) and trend detection tests (Spearman’s rho and Kindall’s tau) were applied to average annual discharge and rainfall data for the catchment between 1984 and 2013.Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test was also used to compare the means. Results revealed that huge land cover changes coincided with significant (p<0.05) changes in streamflow although rainfall remained homogenous over the same period. This suggests that land cover change is intricately coupled to increases in streamflow. In addition, increased runoff is usually accompanied by increased rates of erosion and siltation. To ensure sustainable management of the catchment, therefore, soil and water conservation measures are critical within the broader context of integrated water resources management.
| Published in | International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 3, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12 |
| Page(s) | 31-38 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Change Detection, Land Cover Classification, Landsat Image, Streamflow, Rainfall
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APA Style
Onalenna Gwate, Yali E. Woyessa, David Wiberg. (2015). Dynamics of Land Cover and Impact on Stream flow in the Modder River Basin of South Africa: Case Study of a Quaternary Catchment. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 3(2), 31-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12
ACS Style
Onalenna Gwate; Yali E. Woyessa; David Wiberg. Dynamics of Land Cover and Impact on Stream flow in the Modder River Basin of South Africa: Case Study of a Quaternary Catchment. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2015, 3(2), 31-38. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12
AMA Style
Onalenna Gwate, Yali E. Woyessa, David Wiberg. Dynamics of Land Cover and Impact on Stream flow in the Modder River Basin of South Africa: Case Study of a Quaternary Catchment. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2015;3(2):31-38. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12,
author = {Onalenna Gwate and Yali E. Woyessa and David Wiberg},
title = {Dynamics of Land Cover and Impact on Stream flow in the Modder River Basin of South Africa: Case Study of a Quaternary Catchment},
journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
volume = {3},
number = {2},
pages = {31-38},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20150302.12},
abstract = {Understanding how dynamics in individual land use types influence changes in streamflow is vital. Most hydrological studies are based on paired catchment and modelling approaches. These are data intensive and require a long period of monitoring. To determine the hydrological effects of tropical vegetation conversion over large areas, it is manageable to study the same basin over different time periods. The study analysed changes in historical stream flow patterns with reference to dynamics in land cover in C52A quaternary catchment of South Africa. Landsat images for years 1993, 2004 and 2013 were used for the development of land cover maps. Subsequently, step-change (median point change, Mann-Whitney and Kruskall Willis) and trend detection tests (Spearman’s rho and Kindall’s tau) were applied to average annual discharge and rainfall data for the catchment between 1984 and 2013.Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test was also used to compare the means. Results revealed that huge land cover changes coincided with significant (p<0.05) changes in streamflow although rainfall remained homogenous over the same period. This suggests that land cover change is intricately coupled to increases in streamflow. In addition, increased runoff is usually accompanied by increased rates of erosion and siltation. To ensure sustainable management of the catchment, therefore, soil and water conservation measures are critical within the broader context of integrated water resources management.},
year = {2015}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Dynamics of Land Cover and Impact on Stream flow in the Modder River Basin of South Africa: Case Study of a Quaternary Catchment AU - Onalenna Gwate AU - Yali E. Woyessa AU - David Wiberg Y1 - 2015/03/15 PY - 2015 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12 T2 - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy JF - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy JO - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy SP - 31 EP - 38 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-7536 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.12 AB - Understanding how dynamics in individual land use types influence changes in streamflow is vital. Most hydrological studies are based on paired catchment and modelling approaches. These are data intensive and require a long period of monitoring. To determine the hydrological effects of tropical vegetation conversion over large areas, it is manageable to study the same basin over different time periods. The study analysed changes in historical stream flow patterns with reference to dynamics in land cover in C52A quaternary catchment of South Africa. Landsat images for years 1993, 2004 and 2013 were used for the development of land cover maps. Subsequently, step-change (median point change, Mann-Whitney and Kruskall Willis) and trend detection tests (Spearman’s rho and Kindall’s tau) were applied to average annual discharge and rainfall data for the catchment between 1984 and 2013.Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test was also used to compare the means. Results revealed that huge land cover changes coincided with significant (p<0.05) changes in streamflow although rainfall remained homogenous over the same period. This suggests that land cover change is intricately coupled to increases in streamflow. In addition, increased runoff is usually accompanied by increased rates of erosion and siltation. To ensure sustainable management of the catchment, therefore, soil and water conservation measures are critical within the broader context of integrated water resources management. VL - 3 IS - 2 ER -
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