Abstract

Protected area water yield calculation and mapping are of great importance to the conservation planning and resource management. A water yield model based on InVEST was employed to estimate water yield in Periyar Tiger Reserve, a representative in the Southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India. The analysis included land use/land cover, average annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, soil depth at various elevation, and plant available water content. The estimated water yield of PTR was 2.33E+09 m3/year with 67% from Periyar river watershed and 33% from Pamba river watershed. A comparison of water-yielding capacity to the forest ecosystems with different vegetations indicates that there is a decreasing trend from evergreen forest and semi-evergreen forest to grassland-savanna, moist deciduous forest, and plantations. It is estimated 37% of evergreen and 24% of semi-evergreen share the major portion of the total water yield, 63.5% of PTR. This study reveals the significance of ecosystem services of the protected area and the importance to conserve and required efficient management. Government of Kerala

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.