Assessing the Influence of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Changes on Hydrological Response of the Timah-Tasoh Reservoir

Abstract

Changing patterns in land use and land cover (LULC) is potentially due to development pressure. Due to the increase in LULC change, it alters natural ecosystems and changing the composition of the natural ecosystem services. This study provides evidence to support the hypothesis that LULC can influence both inflow and discharge. The objectives of the study were to measure the impact of LULC change on inflow of the Timah-Tasoh reservoir. The study area land cover was reclassified into five categories which included agriculture, built-up areas, forest, vacant land, and water bodies. Based on the effect of LULC on hydrological response, it is observed that the catchment is not sensitive to changes in LULC. Two mains of LULC scenarios were used including deforestation and afforestation. With an increase in CN to 89.26 (deforestation), the inflow rate increases by 2% (342.20 m3/s) compared to the present inflow rate. Meanwhile, the inflow rate will decrease to 0.21% (334.80 m3/s) if the CN value is 80.02 (afforestation). Thus, by using this study’s results, a better method and parameters compatible with another hydrological modelling can be developed for future study.