Massive land system changes impact water quality of the Jhelum River in Kashmir Himalaya

Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk

et al. 2017

Self Cite

The 2014 extreme flooding in Kashmir, with the peak discharge exceeding 115,000 cfs and the Jhelum River overflowing its banks, was triggered by the complex interplay of atmospheric disturbances causing widespread extreme rainfall for 7 days preceding the event. We used multisource data in GIS environment; satellites, hydro-meteorological, socioeconomic and field data, to assess the role of various factors in the flooding. The event was aggravated by the geomorphic setup of the Valley. Tributaries in the south, characterized by high gradient, decreased time of runoff concentration and increased flood peakedness with short lag, almost simultaneously discharge enormous volumes of floodwaters into the Jhelum around Sangam. Owing to the flat gradient of the Jhelum from Sangam downstream (<5 o), floods historically inundate vast areas in the stretch. The situation was exacerbated by the anthropogenic drivers, such as extensive urbanization of the floodplain, loss of wetlands, and decreased channel capacity due to the siltation from the deforested mountainous landscapes. The dilapidated flood control infrastructure and the institutional inability to manage the enormity of the event made the situation worst causing unprecedented damage to the infrastructure in the basin with the capital city Srinagar inundated up to »30ft for more than a week.

Section: Demography and Land System Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic, geomorphic and anthropogenic drivers of the 2014 extreme flooding in the Jhelum basin of Kashmir, India

Romshoo

Altaf

Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk

et al. 2017

Self Cite

“…The analysis indicated that area under irrigation intensive rice paddies shows persistent signs of decline, whereas areas under orchards and built-up areas are increasing at unprecedented rates. The massive land system changes in the Kashmir region concerning agricultural lands, orchards, and built-up areas have been documented in many studies [39,40,87]. Although few studies suggest that the depleting streamflows are a significant factor driving the land system changes in Kashmir [88,89], the changes are also perhaps taking place due to economic considerations, especially given the fact that the production from apple orchards fetches more income compared to irrigation-intensive agriculture [46,[90][91][92][93].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking the Recent Glacier Retreat and Depleting Streamflow Patterns with Land System Changes in Kashmir Himalaya, India

Majeed

Aneaus

et al. 2020

Water

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This study reports the changes in glacier extent and streamflow similar to many Himalayan studies, but takes the unusual step of also linking these to downstream land use changes in Kashmir Valley. This study assessed changes in the area, snout, and equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of four parts of the Kolahoi Glacier using earth observation data from 1962 to 2018. Changes in the discharge of the two streams flowing out from Kolahoi Glacier into the Jhelum basin were also assessed between 1972 and 2018. Additionally, satellite data was used to track the downstream land system changes concerning agriculture, orchards, and built-up areas between 1980 and 2018. This analysis suggested a cumulative deglaciation of 23.6% at a rate of 0.42% per year from 1962 to 2018. The snout of two larger glaciers, G1 and G2, retreated at a rate of 18.3 m a −1 and 16.4 m a −1 , respectively, from 1962 to 2018, although the rate of recession accelerated after 2000. Our analysis also suggested the upward shift of ELA by ≈120 m. The streamflows measured at five sites showed statistically significant depleting trends that have been a factor in forcing extensive land system changes downstream. Although the area under agriculture in Lidder watershed shrunk by 39%, there was a massive expansion of 176% and 476% in orchards and built-up areas, respectively, from 1980 to 2018. The conversion of irrigation-intensive agriculture lands (rice paddy) to less water-intensive orchards is attributed to economic considerations and depleting streamflow.Water 2020, 12, 1168 2 of 18 to decrease in the streamflows in the Himalayan Rivers [7,[27][28][29], which could affect water availability downstream [30]. Studies suggest that the glacier recession in the Kashmir valley has already resulted in the depleted streamflows downstream [31,32]. The land system changes in the region [33][34][35][36] have been linked to depleting streamflows, economic considerations, and unplanned land transformation.The use of remote sensing data for quantifying land system changes over the Kashmir region has been widely documented [37][38][39][40]. At the same time, there is substantial scientific literature detailing the glacier retreat prevalent over the region. A recent study indicated that the glaciers in the Ladakh region are retreating at 0.55% a −1 [41], whereas another study [42] reported few stable and advancing glaciers in the Zanskar region of Jammu and Kashmir. Similar retreat estimates have been put forth for the Zanskar region for the glacier area changes carried between 1989 and 2007 [43]. However, very conservative area changes (0.16% a −1 ) have been reported for the neighboring Suru basin [44] for the glacier area changes assessed for the 1977-2017 period. In another study carried out in the Lidder watershed of the Jhelum basin, the glaciers were reported to be shrinking at 0.51% a −1 [17]. Glacier mass change over the western Himalayas has accelerated from 0.33 to 0.5 m w.e. (water equivalent) per year between 1970-2000 and 2000-2010, respectively [45]. Ther...

“…Small decrease in AGB was observed in AS due to the presence of snow in satellite datasets of 1992, 2005 and 2013. AGB under OR is showing an increase especially in south and south-eastern part of Lidder valley, which could be attributed to the land system changes as the people have shifted from irrigation intensive paddy culture to cost-beneficial to profitable orchard cultivation Romshoo & Rashid 2014;Rather et al 2016). There is 2.7-fold increase in the land area under orchards from 1980-2013 in the study area.…”

Section: Phytosociology-based Agbmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…shows that 74.53 km 2 EF has degraded owing to varying pressures of forest degradation(Rather et al 2016). The other classes, which show changes from 1980-2013 are AG, BR, FL, AS, ML and WB.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing changes in the above ground biomass and carbon stocks of Lidder valley, Kashmir Himalaya, India

Bhat

Romshoo

2016

Geocarto International

Self Cite

The changes in the land use and land cover (LULC), above ground biomass (AGB) and the associated above ground carbon (AGC) stocks were assessed in Lidder Valley, Kashmir Himalaya using satellite data , allometric equations and phytosociological data. Change detection analysis of LULC, comprising of eight vegetation and five non-vegetation types, indicated that 6% (74.5 km 2 ) of the dense evergreen forest has degraded. Degraded forest and settlement increased by 20 and 52.8 km 2 , respectively. Normalized difference vegetation index was assessed and correlated with the fieldbased biomass estimates to arrive at best-fit models for remotely sensed AGB estimates for 2005 and 2013. Total loss of 1.018 Megatons of AGB and 0.5 Megatons of AGC was estimated from the area during 33-year period which would have an adverse effect on the carbon sequestration potential of the area which is already facing the brunt of climate change.