Chi River Basin Research Articles

NEW HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CREATIVE TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE TERRITORIES IN CHI RIVER BASIN, NE THAILAND

Na Ngam, situated in the Chi River Basin, boasts rich water resources and notable geological features like the Chi River, Yang River, and Chi oxbow lake. These elements significantly influence local cultures, traditions, temples, and agricultural products. The area's identity is encapsulated in its slogan highlighting its agricultural wealth, educational an d healthcare development, Buddhism conservation, and traditional festivals. Utilizing Participatory Action Research (PAR), Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), and SWOT analysis, the Na Ngam 101 project aims to enhance tourism by integrating cultural, geotourism, and gastronomic aspects. This model promotes local culture, community income, and environmental conservation, fostering sustainable regional development.

Utilizing sequential modeling in collaborative method for flood forecasting

Flood forecasting has been a major challenge in hydrology for decades. A variety of approaches have been developed, including numerical models and data-driven models, such as Deep Learning (DL), for disaster early-warning and monitoring systems. This study proposed two combination models, exploring different feature separation techniques to improve the 12-hour multi-step discharge prediction. Specifically, two different approaches were implemented, namely the separation of wet and dry periods (Combination Model No. 1; CM-1) and the separation of flood and non-flood events (Combination Model No. 2; CM-2) for comparison with the baseline model trained on an entire dataset. Multivariate time series discharge data were used, measured at upstream and downstream stations within the same river basins. Experiments were conducted in three case study areas in Thailand: the Lower Loei River Basin, the Upper Nan River Basin, and the Upper Chi River Basin.In the proposed model combination approach, three deep-learning models were investigated: vanilla recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and their variants, long short-term memory networks (LSTMs), and gated recurrent units (GRUs). In general, CM-2 exhibited superior performance compared to the other models in most of the experimented neural networks, while the CM-1 approach outperformed the baseline model. This emphasized the advantages of our proposed feature separation framework, particularly in improving model performance, with respect to flood events. However, some variations were observed in the Upper Chi River Basin because the more complex models, such as LSTMs and GRUs, possibly overfitted the training set with less fluctuating data. Our study highlighted the significant contribution of combining two models through feature separation, tailored to specific periods, thereby enhancing the accuracy of flood predictions.

Application of SWAT Model for Assessment of Surface Runoff in Flash Flood Areas

In addition to changes in the amount of rain, changes in land use upstream are considered a factor that directly affects the maximum runoff flow in a basin, especially in areas that have experienced floods and flash floods. This research article presents the application of the SWAT model to assess runoff in areas that have experienced flash floods, in order to analyze the proportion of land use change to the maximum runoff. Study areas that experienced flash floods were in three basins in Thailand (Lam Saphung Basin, Phrom River Basin, and Chern River Basin Part 1, which is a sub-basin of the Nam Chi River Basin). This study analyzed two main factors that influenced runoff in the river basin by considering two simulation situations: (1) changes in land use affecting runoff assessed by considering land use maps in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 when using rainfall data only in the year 2021 for all cases and (2) changes in the amount of rainfall influencing runoff by considering the rainfall records in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 when using the land use data only in the year 2021 for all cases. The results of the study found that the SWAT model can be effectively applied to estimate annual runoff in areas that have experienced flash floods under eight parameters with R2 values of 0.74, 0.82, and 0.74 for the Lam Saphung River Basin, Phrom River Basin, and Chern River Basin Part 1, respectively. In addition, it was found that the proportion of land use changes that involved changes from forested areas to residential areas was the greatest from 2008 to 2010 in the Phrom River Basin and Chern River Basin Part 1. This resulted in an increase in the maximum runoff amounts of 77.78% and 46.87%, respectively. When land use was constant, it was found that the rainfall in 2010, which was the highest, also had the greatest impact on the runoff in all three areas.

A reservoir operation based on simple inflow prediction for flood control and water resources management in the Chi River Basin, Northeastern Thailand

A reservoir operation based on simple inflow prediction for flood control and water resources management in the Chi River Basin, Northeastern Thailand

Monitoring Agricultural Land and Land Cover Change from 2001–2021 of the Chi River Basin, Thailand Using Multi-Temporal Landsat Data Based on Google Earth Engine

In recent years, climate change has greatly affected agricultural activity, sustainability and production, making it difficult to conduct crop management and food security assessment. As a consequence, significant changes in agricultural land and land cover (LC) have occurred, mostly due to the introduction of new agricultural practices, techniques and crops. Earth Observation (EO) data, cloud-computing platforms and powerful machine learning methods can certainly support analysis within the agricultural context. Therefore, accurate and updated agricultural land and LC maps can be useful to derive valuable information for land change monitoring, trend planning, decision-making and sustainable land management. In this context, this study aims at monitoring temporal and spatial changes between 2001 and 2021 (with a four 5-year periods) within the Chi River Basin (NE–Thailand). Specifically, all available Landsat archives and the random forest (RF) classifier were jointly involved within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform in order to: (i) generate five different crop type maps (focusing on rice, cassava, para rubber and sugarcane classes), and (ii) monitoring the agricultural land transitions over time. For each crop map, a confusion matrix and the correspondent accuracy were computed and tested according to a validation dataset. In particular, an overall accuracy > 88% was found in all of the resulting five crop maps (for the years 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021). Subsequently the agricultural land transitions were analyzed, and a total of 18,957 km2 were found as changed (54.5% of the area) within the 20 years (2001–2021). In particular, an increase in cassava and para rubber areas were found at the disadvantage of rice fields, probably due to two different key drivers taken over time: the agricultural policy and staple price. Finally, it is worth highlighting that such results turn out to be decisive in a challenging agricultural environment such as the Thai one. In particular, the high accuracy of the five derived crop type maps can be useful to provide spatial consistency and reliable information to support local sustainable agriculture land management, decisions of policymakers and many stakeholders.

Evidence of microplastics in the Chi River Basin, Thailand: Anthropogenic influence and potential threats to edible arthropods

Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging pollutant in freshwater that have become a cause for concern among researchers around the world. In this study, MPs contamination in water, sediment and edible arthropods of the upper Chi River and Pong River was studied to analyze the influence of anthropogenic activities on contamination in the river environments and arthropods. Five species of arthropods were observed to assess the impact of MPs contamination: Caridina sp, Macrobrachium sp., Aethriamanta sp., Aciagrion sp. and Sphaerodema molestum. MPs were found in water and sediment samples with an average of 141 items/m3 and 9.5 items/kg, respectively. Fibers were major MPs shape in water (63%) and sediment (81.9%). MPs with dark blue color were numerically dominant in water (28%) and sediment (39.6%). MPs in edible arthropods were in the range of 0.25 – 8.0 items/individual. A wider variety of polymer types was found in the rivers than in the edible arthropods. Overall, dark blue colored PP fibers were found to be the most abundant in water, sediment and edible arthropods with MPs mostly ranging 1000–2000 µm in size. MPs concentration in water correlated with community size (p-value <0.05), and the abundance in sediment correlated with the number of roofs (p-value <0.05) and the distance of the rivers from communities (p-value <0.05). Anthropogenic activities significantly contributed to abundance of MP in water and sediment. Industrial, community and fish farming contributed to MP in water and agriculture and community directly correlated with MP in sediment with p-value <0.05 at 95% confidence. The results indicate the significant influence of anthropogenic activities on the amount of MPs in water and sediment, directly relating to contamination in edible arthropods. Domestic wastewater and plastic waste are likely to be the leading causes of existing MPs in the rivers and arthropods.

Deformation of Mentum Structure in Larvae of Chironomidae (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the Chi River Basin, Thailand

Deformation of Mentum Structure in Larvae of Chironomidae (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the Chi River Basin, Thailand

Leveraging Multi-Source Data and Digital Technology to Support the Monitoring of Localized Water Changes in the Mekong Region

The limited availability of high-resolution monitoring systems for the drought phenomena and water dynamics affected by weather anomalies hinders policy decisions in a multitude of ways. This paper introduces the availability of the high-resolution Water Monitoring System (WMS) developed from a mix of sophisticated multi-spectral satellite imageries, analytic and data sciences, and cloud computing, for monitoring the changes in water levels and vegetation water stress at the local scale. The WMS was tested in the Lower Mekong Region (LMR) case basin, Thailand’s Chi River Basin, in the period from January 2021 to April 2021, the dry season. The overall quality of the VHI, VCI, TCI, and NDVI drought simulation results showed a statistically positive Pearson correlation with the reservoir and dam water volume data (ranged between 0.399 and 0.575) but demonstrated a strong negative correlation with the groundwater level data (between −0.355 and −0.504). Further investigation and more detailed analysis of the influence of different physical environmental conditions related to change in groundwater level should be considered to increase scientific knowledge and understanding about the changing nature of the local system from local perspectives with the alternative use of drought indices in data-poor areas. Our result suggests that the WMS can provide quantitative spatiotemporal variations of localized and contextualized surface water changes as a preliminary analysis. The WMS results can offer guidance for finding a better smaller unit management that suits the local conditions, such as water resource management, disaster risk reduction measures (i.e., drought and flood), irrigation practice, land use planning, and crop management. The existing WMS is geared toward the early warning of water and agricultural development, progress on the SDGs, utilization of digital innovation, and improved abilities of decision-makers to monitor and foresee extreme weather events earlier and with high spatial accuracy.

Effective water quality and management for water user organizations by traditional rules and regulations of the local communities in the Chi River Basin in Thailand

Effective water quality and management for water user organizations by traditional rules and regulations of the local communities in the Chi River Basin in Thailand

Multi-criteria Flood Susceptibility Assessment Using Remote Sensing and GIS-based Approaches in Chi River Basin, Thailand

The flood susceptibility map is a comprehensive resource for forecasting and preventing floods worldwide, particularly where floods occur on a regular basis, which is missing in numerous developing-country basins. The recurring flood hazard in Thailand is an endless problem as there is still a lack of understanding of the underlying causative factors. This research provides an answer of certain flood-causative parameters and the effects on flood susceptibility in Chi River Basin (CRB), Thailand, using an Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) method. As the result, total of seven hydrogeomorphological parameters can be ranked by its influence on flood hazard in the CRB, as follows, the distance from the river, elevation, geology, soil type, land use, drainage density, and geomorphology, respectively. Combination of all flood-causative parameters based on their weights and ranks provided the flood susceptibility map. The map was evaluated as accurate relative to previous satellite-based flood maps using a binary classification test, providing a robust flood susceptibility map. The findings of this work have contributed to a decent understanding of the present problem of floods in the CRB in the context of its actual causes, which is beneficial for a water management scheme.

NITROGEN FLOW ANALYSIS FROM DIFFERENT LAND-USE OF THE CHI RIVER BASIN (MAHA SARAKHAM REGION, THAILAND)

This paper aims at assessing the effect of land use on nitrogen flows from a significant landuse area in the Chi River basin (Maha Sarakham region) in Thailand. The Chi River is one of the main rivers, and many land use categories affect the quality of the river. Statistical data and referred data was collected as the secondary data from credible sources to identify the flows. The data show a strong effect of land use on nitrogen with the highest load dominated by paddy field (66,597.51 tonne/year), and the lowest value in the community (1,005.71 tonne/year). Nitrogen flow increased with the fertilizer application in paddy field and farm plants (34,834.07 tonne/year). Paddy field discharged nitrogen to the Chi River 47 tonne/year in form of surface runoff. Also, the community without wastewater collection system takes part in a non-point source (NPS) of nitrogen to the Chi River at 299 tonne/year. The management's suggestion is to control fertilizer application, burning of agricultural residue such as rice straw, and wastewater treatment before disposal.

Investigation of possible alternate animal reservoir hosts of Opisthorchis viverrini

Chronic opisthorchiasis caused by Opisthorchis viverrini (O. viverrini) adversely affects human health and is associated with a fatal bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma). Although cats and dogs are known animal reservoir hosts of opisthorchiasis, there is limited information about whether other fish-eating animals are fluke reservoirs. Wetlands along Chi River of Thailand have abundant intermediate host snails and fish for O. viverrini and diverse other animal species. This led to our investigation into whether other fish-eating animals can also become infected and be alternate reservoir hosts for human opisthorchiasis. Our preliminary study focused on the O. viverrini infection status of crab-eating or long-tailed macaques roaming in Kosumpi National Forest Park in Chi River Basin, Kosumpisai District of Mahasarakam Province, and rodents, small residential mammals and fish-eating birds living in Lawa wetland complex of Khon Kaen Province. Fecal samples of each animal were collected and modified formalin ether concentration technique was applied to identify infections. Additionally, participatory epidemiology was used to retrieve information from local communities on opisthorchiasis transmission in these animals. No O. viverrini infection was found in any fecal samples suggesting that monkeys, rodents, small residential mammals and birds in these two wetlands probably do not serve as alternate reservoir hosts of O. viverrini.

First chromosome analysis of Thai pufferfish Pao cochinchinensis (Steindachner, 1866)

Abstract. Pissaparn M, Phimphan S, Chaiyasan P, Tanoamtong A, Liehr T, Suwannapoom C, Reungsing M, Supiwong W. 2020. First chromosome analysis of Thai pufferfish Pao cochinchinensis (Steindachner, 1866). Biodiversitas 21: 4309-4316. Here first analysis of chromosomes and nucleolar organizer region (NOR) pattern in pufferfish Pao cochinchinensis (Steindachner, 1866) was undertaken. Chromosomal preparations were obtained from kidney of P. cochinchinensis from Chi River basin in Thailand. Chromosomal characteristics were analyzed by Giemsa staining, Ag-NOR banding as well as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using microsatellites d(CA)15 and d(CGG)10 probes. P. cochinchinensis had 2n = 40 with the fundamental number (NF) 74, both in male and female. The karyotype exhibited 12 metacentric (m), 10 submetacentric (sm), 12 acrocentric (a) and 6 telocentric (t) chromosomes. No differentiated heteromorphic sex chromosomes were observed. NORs were located on short arms adjacent to telomere of the metacentric chromosome pair 4, which coincide with signals of d(CGG)10 probe. FISH with d(CGG)10 sequences were also displayed at the telomeres of most other chromosomes, whereas d(CA)15 repeats highly accumulated throughout almost all entire chromosomes except for centromeric regions. The results of conventional Giemsa staining presented the differentiation even the same genus. The localization of NORs on one pair of chromosomes only is a common characteristic found in many fish groups as well as other vertebrates. Mapping of two distinct microsatellites demonstrated the remarkable chromosomal diversification that characterizes evolution in the genus Pao. Both, conventional and molecular cytogenetics are excellent tools to study, and better understand chromosomal evolution, as well as to uncover biodiversity among fishes.

Effective Water Resources Management for Communities in the Chi River Basin in Thailand

Using the participatory action research methodology (IPAR) method, the input and knowledge of different stakeholder groups is an ongoing process to establish best water user practices to allocate limited resources. Ongoing studies are being held for barrier and flood prevention solutions, integration of competing water user sectors, and evaluation of customary practices and rules. The establishments of updated regulations are necessary for the future enforcement so that water allocation and management is effective and fair for all users. This article addresses effective and fair water resource management regulation (EFWRMR) for water user organizations in the Chi River Basin in Thailand. The development of water resource management regulations of water users organizations are based surveys, analysis, and development of regulations through methodologies and research from organizations and users which broadly include water users, households, community leaders, government agencies, NGOs, other institutions and organizations characterized as Integrated Participatory Action Research (“IPAR”). Using the IPAR methodology, the study compiled information form a comprehensive survey. Topics included problems floods and droughts, and water and solutions such as developing water reservoirs along the natural swamps, other storage capacities and water management. Legal experts were consulted legal experts were consulted on water management, the current state of the ecological community, and draft governmental regulations.

Effective Water Resources Management for Communities in the Chi River Basin in Thailand

Effective Water Resources Management for Communities in the Chi River Basin in Thailand

Soil Organic Carbon Stocks across Hydrologic Schemes in Freshwater Wetlands of the Chi River Basin, Northeast Thailand

The role of freshwater wetlands as soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks has been well documented for temperate regions but less is well known in tropical regions. In this study, SOC stocks were compared within three different hydrologic schemes in six freshwater wetlands of the Chi River Basin in tropical Northeast Thailand. The SOC concentration exhibited a decrease with increased depth and significantly differed among the hydrologic schemes (9.15 ± 0.84, 8.66 ± 0.67, and 5.53 ± 0.49 g C kg−1 for the intermittently flooded zone, saturated zone, and permanently flooded zone, respectively). The SOC stocks at 50 cm depth were significantly highest in the intermittently flooded zone (69.05 ± 10.86 Mg C ha−1), followed by the saturated zone and the permanently flooded zone (66.06 ± 7.75 and 43.39 ± 5.83 Mg C ha−1, respectively). Total SOC stocks among wetlands ranged from 123.30 to 291.29 Mg C ha−1. These differences indicate the spatial variability of SOC within wetland locations and among wetlands. The study demonstrates an important ecosystem service of these wetlands as carbon stocks, and it will be useful for management and policy planning of the wetlands in the Chi River Basin.

A comparative performance analysis of three standardized climatic drought indices in the Chi River basin, Thailand

Drought indices are generally used as a tool for monitoring changes in drought conditions. This paper evaluated the performance of three climatic drought indices to characterize drought trends in the Chi River basin in Northeast Thailand. Initially, the drought assessment was conducted using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), a precipitation-based index, and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), an index taking into account the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (PET). Then, this study simply applied an index called the Standardized Precipitation Actual Evapotranspiration Index (SPAEI), similar to the commonly used SPEI, with the difference being in the use of actual evapotranspiration (AET) instead of PET. Time series of the three indices were compared with observed droughts. The results indicated that various indicators of different indices can have diverse effects on drought conditions. The simple SPI, considering only precipitation, can be used to identify characteristics of droughts with certain restrictions. Being multivariate indices, the SPEI and the SPAEI were able to clearly detect the temporal variability of droughts to a greater extent than the SPI index. Moreover, the different results derived from using P-AET instead of P-PET made a substantial difference to temporal drought severity. Thus, climatic water demand had important aspects in determining the drought conditions for this area.

The Challenges of Water Resource Management from Top to Bottom: A Case Study in Chi River Basin, Thailand

This paper focusses on the challenges of employing the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach in the Chi River basin in Northeast Thailand to determine its effectiveness and pitfalls. At the macro level, the problems of IWRM were found to be related to the fragmentation of the ministries associated with water issues and the poor coordination of political parties. Therefore, to address this challenge of IWRM, cooperation (sahakān) through deterritorialization and deregulation of both bureaucratic structures at the state level and the local authority's recommendations needed to manage these water resources. Observation and interviewing methods were employed in the three villages to explore the conditions of IWRM. Gaps in cooperation between the institutions at the state and local levels were found from limited roles and budgets to manage water resources in each administrative area. This paper discusses recommendations at both the state and local level. At the state level, there are structural and non-structural measurements to consider. These measurements must be addressed by the facilitators of the institutions in order to bridge gaps in cooperation and in order to plan and address the larger scheme of water issues at both national and regional levels. At the local level, deregulation and deterritorialization were found to be the key concerns of IWRM between the different local authorities.

Compressive Strength in Various Submersion Tests of Fired Clay Bricks from Chi River Sub-Basin

The river sediments from the Chi River basin, including Chi River and Nam Phong River, are valuable to comprehend the brick process, physical and chemical properties which lead to its strength. Study areas cover three different regions in Maha Sarakham, Kalasin and Roi Et provinces nearby six brickyards which are separated in two areas Nam Phong and Chi River area. Mechanical property is referred to compressive strengths of a brick unit. These compressive strengths of the fired brick unit increase with increasing their densities. Elastic moduli of original fired brick at the ultimate stress and strain corresponding by time in submersion test show that any solutions filled in void or pore can enhance the apparent density of bricks. Thus, fired bricks are capable to resist compressive force than the normal condition. The ratio of modulus in submersion test for 4 hours, expressed in the original fired brick to water, acidic saline and saline is 1: 1.1: 1.2: 1.6, respectively. The stress level depends on the fracture plane over particular long space fabricating by manufacturing process. These results are related only to the linearity plot.

Plant Diversity on Slightly Saline Soils in Chi River Basin of Northeast Thailand

Plant Diversity on Slightly Saline Soils in Chi River Basin of Northeast Thailand