A multicriteria approach to different land use scenarios in the Western Carpathians with the SWAT model

Abstract

Water erosion in mountainous areas is a major problem, especially on steep slopes exposed to intense precipitation. This paper presents the analysis of the topsoil loss using the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. The SWAT model is a deterministic catchment model with a daily time step. It was designed to anticipate changes taking place in the catchment area, such as climate change and changes in land use and development, including the quantity and quality of water resources, soil erosion and agricultural production. In addition to hydrological and environmental aspects, the SWAT model is used to address socio-economic and demographic issues, such as water supply and food production. This program is integrated with QGIS software. The results were evaluated using the following statistical coefficients: determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliff model efficiency ( NS), and percentage deviation index ( PBIAS). An assessment of modelling results was made in terms of their variation according to different land cover scenarios. In the case of the scenario with no change in use, the average annual loss of topsoil (average upland sediment yield) was found to be 14.3 Mg∙ha –1. The maximum upland sediment yield was 94.6 Mg∙ha –1. On the other hand, there is an accumulation of soil material in the lower part of the catchment (in-stream sediment change), on average 13.27 Mg∙ha –1 per year.

Keywords

• catchment area
• land use
• soil erosion
• swat model
• western carpathians