Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian Highlands
Detecting the impacts of forest cover changes on hydrology is challenging given uncertainties in how changes will manifest in observed streamflow. Considering changes in the rate of change of observed streamflow (e.g., recession characteristics) may offer insights to hydrological shifts driven by fo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/16/2310 |
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| author | Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot Lutz Breuer Steve W. Lyon |
| author_facet | Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot Lutz Breuer Steve W. Lyon |
| author_sort | Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Detecting the impacts of forest cover changes on hydrology is challenging given uncertainties in how changes will manifest in observed streamflow. Considering changes in the rate of change of observed streamflow (e.g., recession characteristics) may offer insights to hydrological shifts driven by forest cover change that are not seen when considering absolute changes of streamflow itself. This study assesses the impacts of forest cover changes on the storage–discharge relationships in three meso-scale watersheds in the highlands of Ethiopia based on a 30-year hydro-climatic and land cover change dataset. We analyze streamflow recessions and fitted parameters of a linear reservoir model to depict fundamental shifts in the storage–discharge relation for these watersheds. Our analysis shows that recession slopes and the total storages increase as natural forest covers decrease in the 273 km<sup>2</sup> <i>Woshi-Dimbira</i> and 1980 km<sup>2</sup> <i>Upper-Didesa</i> watersheds. The linear reservoir model storage coefficient parameter shows an increasing trend with time for the 41 km<sup>2</sup> <i>Sokoru</i> watershed which is afforested, indicating faster drainage and reduction in storage. Our work highlights that considering storage–discharge relationships may be useful for assessing the impacts of forest cover change on water resources in regions where land use change is active and rapid. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:17:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ec67a10bea7e4d5598374716c3756409 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:17:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-ec67a10bea7e4d5598374716c37564092023-11-22T10:15:56ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-08-011316231010.3390/w13162310Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian HighlandsSolomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot0Lutz Breuer1Steve W. Lyon2Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa 150461, EthiopiaResearch Centre for BioSystems, Land Use and Nutrition (iFZ), Institute for Landscape Ecology and Resources Management (ILR), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392 Giessen, GermanyCollege of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Resources, School of Environment and Natural Resources, OARDC—133 Williams Hall, Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691, USADetecting the impacts of forest cover changes on hydrology is challenging given uncertainties in how changes will manifest in observed streamflow. Considering changes in the rate of change of observed streamflow (e.g., recession characteristics) may offer insights to hydrological shifts driven by forest cover change that are not seen when considering absolute changes of streamflow itself. This study assesses the impacts of forest cover changes on the storage–discharge relationships in three meso-scale watersheds in the highlands of Ethiopia based on a 30-year hydro-climatic and land cover change dataset. We analyze streamflow recessions and fitted parameters of a linear reservoir model to depict fundamental shifts in the storage–discharge relation for these watersheds. Our analysis shows that recession slopes and the total storages increase as natural forest covers decrease in the 273 km<sup>2</sup> <i>Woshi-Dimbira</i> and 1980 km<sup>2</sup> <i>Upper-Didesa</i> watersheds. The linear reservoir model storage coefficient parameter shows an increasing trend with time for the 41 km<sup>2</sup> <i>Sokoru</i> watershed which is afforested, indicating faster drainage and reduction in storage. Our work highlights that considering storage–discharge relationships may be useful for assessing the impacts of forest cover change on water resources in regions where land use change is active and rapid.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/16/2310land cover changelinear reservoirrecession curveSouthwest Ethiopiawatershed storage |
| spellingShingle | Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot Lutz Breuer Steve W. Lyon Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian Highlands Water land cover change linear reservoir recession curve Southwest Ethiopia watershed storage |
| title | Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian Highlands |
| title_full | Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian Highlands |
| title_fullStr | Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian Highlands |
| title_full_unstemmed | Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian Highlands |
| title_short | Storage-Discharge Relationships under Forest Cover Change in Ethiopian Highlands |
| title_sort | storage discharge relationships under forest cover change in ethiopian highlands |
| topic | land cover change linear reservoir recession curve Southwest Ethiopia watershed storage |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/16/2310 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT solomongebreyohannisgebrehiwot storagedischargerelationshipsunderforestcoverchangeinethiopianhighlands AT lutzbreuer storagedischargerelationshipsunderforestcoverchangeinethiopianhighlands AT stevewlyon storagedischargerelationshipsunderforestcoverchangeinethiopianhighlands |