Assessing the impact of land use on water resources in the Dongwan Subbasin

Land use exerts a considerable impact on runoff in the semiarid basin of the Yellow River. Assessing the effects of land-use changes on runoff characteristics is a vital task for water resource managers. The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of a change in land use on water resources by using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. This is needed for the rational organization of the water economy of the country. Considerable land-use changes have been noticed in the study area. The conversion of lands of various types into urban land results in uncertain parameters in the SWAT model. The data indicate that the SWAT model may be successfully used to assess the impacts of land-use variability on water resources of the study basin. The results of this research may become an important reference for the rational use of water resources and soil conservation and may be used in ecohydrology of the river basin.