Assessing the Effect of Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes on Discharge and Sediment Yield in a Rural Coal-Mine Dominated Watershed in Kentucky, USA

Abstract

The Appalachian Mountain region of eastern Kentucky is unique and contains high proportions of forestland along with coal and natural gas depositaries. Landscape changes due to extreme mining activities can eventually threaten the downstream ecosystems, including soil and water quality, resulting in excessive runoff and sedimentation. The purpose of this study is to assess the impacts of land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes in streamflow and sediment yield in Yellow Creek Watershed, Kentucky, USA, between 1992 and 2016. LULC, digital elevation model, soil, and weather data were inputted into the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate discharge and sediment yield. The model output was evaluated on several statistical parameters, such as the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE), RMSE-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR), percent bias (PBIAS), and the coefficient of determination (R2). In addition, two indices, P-factor and R-factor, were used to measure the prediction uncertainty. The calibrated model showed an increase in surface runoff and sediment yield due to changes in LULC in the Yellow Creek Watershed. The results provided important insights for studying water management strategies to make more informed land management decisions and adaptive practices.

Assessing the Impacts of Future Land Use Land Cover and Climate Change on the Water Balance Components and Sediment Yield of The Bhavani Watershed in India

“…The SWAT model has been utilized globally in various river basins to examine how land use and climate, impact hydrological processes. Using this model, various researchers have studied the effects of land use and land cover changes on the runoff and sediment yield of river basins (da Fonseca et al, 2022;Defersha & Melesse, 2012;Gyawali et al, 2022;Samal & Gedam, 2021;Worku et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2010). Land use and land cover (LULC) changes and climate change are two major factors that can significantly impact the hydrological flows of a watershed (Kim et al, 2013;M.…”

Using benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic stressors on water quality and sediment properties of a West African lagoon

“…An increase in population leads to land shortage, and numerous land reclamation projects have been implemented to meet the exponential demand for space and land [ 3 ]. Several coastal nations, such as the USA, Netherlands, Japan, and Nigeria, have been engaged in extensive sea enclosing and reclamation for urban expansion and industrial activities [ [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] ]. In Nigeria, the world’s most populous African nation with 202 million people, about 25% of the population lives in the seven coastal states, Lagos, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross Rivers, bordering the Atlantic Ocean [ 8 ].…”