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. 2019 Nov;11(11):1298-1317.
doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12628. Epub 2019 Jul 26.

Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) simulated hydrological impacts of land use change from temperate grassland to energy crops: A case study in western UK

Amanda J Holder  1 , Rebecca Rowe  2 , Niall P McNamara  2 , Iain S Donnison  1 , Jon P McCalmont  3
Affiliations

Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) simulated hydrological impacts of land use change from temperate grassland to energy crops: A case study in western UK

Amanda J Holder et al. Glob Change Biol Bioenergy. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

When considering the large-scale deployment of bioenergy crops, it is important to understand the implication for ecosystem hydrological processes and the influences of crop type and location. Based on the potential for future land use change (LUC), the 10,280 km2 West Wales Water Framework Directive River Basin District (UK) was selected as a typical grassland dominated district, and the Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrology model with a geographic information systems interface was used to investigate implications for different bioenergy deployment scenarios. The study area was delineated into 855 sub-basins and 7,108 hydrological response units based on rivers, soil type, land use, and slope. Changes in hydrological components for two bioenergy crops (Miscanthus and short rotation coppice, SRC) planted on 50% (2,192 km2) or 25% (1,096 km2) of existing improved pasture are quantified. Across the study area as a whole, only surface run-off with SRC planted at the 50% level was significantly impacted, where it was reduced by up to 23% (during April). However, results varied spatially and a comparison of annual means for each sub-basin and scenario revealed surface run-off was significantly decreased and baseflow significantly increased (by a maximum of 40%) with both Miscanthus and SRC. Evapotranspiration was significantly increased with SRC (at both planting levels) and water yield was significantly reduced with SRC (at the 50% level) by up to 5%. Effects on streamflow were limited, varying between -5% and +5% change (compared to baseline) in the majority of sub-basins. The results suggest that for mesic temperate grasslands, adverse effects from the drying of soil and alterations to streamflow may not arise, and with surface run-off reduced and baseflow increased, there could, depending on crop location, be potential benefits for flood and erosion mitigation.

Keywords: Miscanthus; bioenergy; evapotranspiration; flooding; hydrology; short rotation coppice; streamflow.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Environment Agency England and Wales Water Framework Directive river basin districts. The area covered by the West Wales River Basin used in this study is shown in black. This figure contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Figure 2
Figure 2
Land use as represented in the baseline Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for west Wales watershed (based on the Land Cover Map 2015, Table 1). Observed river flow from calibration (C1–C4) and validation (V1–V3) gauging stations was used to calibrate SWAT model predictions. Weather data were obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) climate locations and UK Met Office climate stations. Potential evapotranspiration (PET) was calculated using data from the circled climate location
Figure 3
Figure 3
The West Wales River Basin District watershed delineated into 855 sub‐basins. The spread of the (a) maximum and (b) limited land use change scenarios (50% and 25%, respectively, of improved pasture in each sub‐basin) is represented
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage difference in the mean monthly (a) surface run‐off (SURQ), (b) baseflow (GWQ), (c) evapotranspiration (ET) and (d) water yield (WY), based on the 10 year simulation period, for each of the land use change scenarios compared to the baseline scenario of no land use conversion. The scenarios shown are Miscanthus (M50 and M25) and short rotation coppice (SRC50 and SRC25) planted on approximately 50% (2,192 km2) or 25% (1,096 km2) of improved pasture areas on or below a 15% slope
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mean percentage change in streamflow compared to the baseline. The change was the similar for each of the land use change (LUC) scenarios, and the percentage shown is the same for each crop type and LUC level
Figure 6
Figure 6
Percentage difference in mean annual (a) surface run‐off (SURQ), (b) baseflow (GWQ), (c) evapotranspiration (ET) and (d) water yield (WY) over the 10 year simulation period for the maximum land use change scenarios compared to the baseline case of no land use conversion. The scenarios shown are Miscanthus (M50) and short rotation coppice (SRC50) planted on approximately 50% (2,192 km2) of improved pasture areas on or below a 15% slope
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