Impact of Climate and Land Use Changes on flowrate in the Kunhar River Basin, Pakistan, for the Period (1992- 2014)

Abstract

Climate and land use land cover (LULC) changes play a vital role in the hydrology of any river basin. This study was aimed to investigate the impact of climate and LULC changes on streamflow in the Kunhar river basin, Pakistan. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), calibrated on a monthly basis, was used as a hydrological model to study the impact of climate and LULC changes on the streamflow. The change in average annual runoff due to LULC was increased but not significant; on the other hand, the flow was decreased by 24 m3/s (20%) as compared to the baseline (122 m3/s), due to climate change. On the seasonal and monthly scale, a difference emerged between high and low flows; high flows were increasing and low flows were decreasing in the wet and dry seasons, respectively, due to LULC changes. However, due to climate change, the seasonal and monthly runoffs were decreased significantly. Problems such as depletion in surface water and environmental flow during the dry season were more prominent due to the changes in the streamflow. These problems can be mitigated by afforestation in the bare lands and grasslands and taking structural measures to conserve the water in the high flow season for later use.