Impact of land use/cover change on the relationship between precipitation and runoff in typical area

Abstract

To study the impact of land use/cover change (LUCC), the relationship between precipitation and runoff was investigated. Our main objective was to ensure reasonable development, management, and sustainable utilization of water resources at a watershed scale. To investigate the relationship between precipitation and runoff, a SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was developed by analyzing LUCC in Naoli River basin. Then, runoff response was analyzed under different LUCC conditions. The contribution coefficient of different land use types to runoff was calculated. The results of this research study are as follows. From 1986 to 2014, dry land, forest land, paddy fields, and unused land were the major land use types, accounting for more than 93% of the total catchment. On the other hand, grass land, building land, and water bodies accounted for a small proportion. Among the four main land use types, the contribution coefficient of forest land was 3.10 mm·km⁻². This indicates that forest land was suitable for runoff generation. The contribution coefficient of dry land, unused land (fluvial wetland in Naoli River basin), and paddy field are −0.11, −0.37, and −0.83 mm·km⁻², respectively. This implies that these three land use types were adverse factors for runoff generation.