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The Effect of Land Use Change on Water Cycle in Forested and Deforested Areas in Australia

Tavakoli, Nazanin | 2022

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 54786 (09)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Civil Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Moghim, Sanaz
  7. Abstract:
  8. Forested areas can cause positive impacts on ecosystems and water supply for agriculture, electricity generation, industry, and human. On the other hand, large-scale deforestation affects the water and energy budget on a regional and global scale. Considering the importance of this issue, this study evaluates the impact of land use and land cover changes (LULC) on the water cycle components, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, and hydroclimatic variables such as soil moisture, air temperature, soil temperature, and sensible heat flux in southeastern Australia using an ecosystem model called Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS). For this purpose, a two-year time span with the highest and lowest vegetation cover during 2001-2020 has been determined using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Moreover, this study uses the NDVI index to divide the study domain into three subdomains: forested, deforested, and transitional areas. Results indicate that, generally, due to deforestation, air temperature, soil temperature, and evapotranspiration increase at the regional and small scales, and precipitation decreases. Furthermore, due to the degradation of the vegetation as the main factor in balancing the climatic conditions of the region and a significant difference between air temperature and soil surface, sensible heat flux has increased. On the other hand, deforestation leads to increased runoff and decreased soil moisture. Therefore, we can conclude that land use and land cover changes (LULC) on a large scale and even at the local scale can increase the severity and frequency of severe hydrological events such as floods and droughts and it has a major impact on the water and energy budget. In general, the results of this study are valuable to understanding the impact of land use and land cover changes (LULC) on the water cycle and its consequences on climate change. In addition, results can be used to develop efficient adaptation and mitigation plans
  9. Keywords:
  10. Climate Change ; Hydrologic Cycle ; Land-Use ; Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS)Model ; Extreme Weather Events ; Australia ; Deforestation ; Land Use and Land Cover Changes

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