Lu et al. (2026) Land Use/Cover Change Reshapes Water Balance Components Across Spatial Scales in a Typical Humid Hilly Region

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Land
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-17
• Authors: Yuanshuo Lu, Jihong Xia, Zefeng Chen, Jiuyang Wang, Jiahui Zhu, Yue Fu
• DOI: 10.3390/land15091735

Research Groups

• Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources, Zhejiang University
• State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science

Short Summary

This study investigates the impact of land use/cover change (LUCC) on watershed hydrological responses in a subtropical humid hilly area, highlighting spatial heterogeneity among sub-basins.

Objective

• Investigate how LUCC influences water balance components at different spatial scales.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Watershed scale with sub-basin analysis.
• Temporal Scale: 2008-2023 period with four time steps (2008, 2013, 2018, and 2023).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model.
• Data sources: Land use maps for 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2023; meteorological forcing data.

Main Results

• LUCC-induced decreases in water yield and increases in evapotranspiration were observed between 2008 and 2023.
• Greater forest expansion was associated with larger decreases in surface runoff and water yield and greater increases in evapotranspiration at the sub-basin scale.
• Forest was identified as the most influential land use predictor for surface runoff, lateral flow, and groundwater contribution.

Contributions

• This study highlights the importance of considering spatial heterogeneity among sub-basins when evaluating LUCC-induced hydrological responses.
• The results provide insights into the value of sub-basin analysis for water management in regions with complex terrain.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51879223)
• Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. LQ20D050001)

Citation

@article{Lu2026Land,
  author = {Lu, Yuanshuo and Xia, Jihong and Li, Mengshi and Chen, Zefeng and Wang, Jiuyang and Zhu, Jiahui and Fu, Yue},
  title = {Land Use/Cover Change Reshapes Water Balance Components Across Spatial Scales in a Typical Humid Hilly Region},
  journal = {Land},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/land15091735},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/land15091735}
}