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Advancement in Geospatial Techniques and Data Analytics for Sustainable Watershed Management in a Changing Environment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 13975

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mukesh K. Tiwari

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Guest Editor

Department of Soil and Water Engineering, College of Agricultural and Technology, Anand Agricultural University, Godhra, Gujarat, India
Interests: hydrology and water resources; remote sensing and GIS; soft computing techniques in water resources engineering; irrigation planning and management

Dr. Deepesh Machiwal

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Guest Editor

ICAR - Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, India
Interests: soil and water conservation engineering

Dr. Adlul Islam

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Guest Editor

Natural Resources Management Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi 110012, India
Interests: climate change; hydrological modeling and simulation; water resources management; watershed hydrology and modeling; watershed management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A watershed is considered as the basic land unit where all the components of the water cycle may be adequately quantified and/or managed. The sustainable management of a watershed benefits human beings without significantly altering the natural environment, with no adverse impacts on plants, animals, and human beings, and thus, it protects the natural ecosystem. The best management practices in a watershed or sub-watershed provide the backbone to the programmes for conserving the precious land and water resources and tackling the upcoming challenges arising due to the burgeoning population, land degradation, depleting groundwater levels, etc. “Life on Land” is one of the Sustainable Development Goals and it encourages countries to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030. On top of this, climate variability and change may have severe repercussions on the future scenario of water management. To more effectively understand the interactions between land and the atmosphere, a better understanding of watershed systems is needed due to their complex surface and environmental interactions in order to conserve the natural resources and to protect the overall health of the watershed systems. The latest advancements in geospatial techniques, data science and analytics, artificial intelligence, advanced computing facilities, exhaustive spatial datasets, and watershed models provide enhanced simulation and modeling capabilities with more insightful outcomes to assist researchers, field engineers, watershed planners, policy and decision makers to assist in managing the watershed in a much better way.

Plentiful studies exist in the literature, which deals with several options for the management of soil and water resources at the watershed or catchment scale. However, it is known that with the advancement of computing technologies there has been a considerable improvement in the simulation of hydrological variables. The evolution and application of advanced tools and techniques, especially artificial intelligence, statistical and geospatial modeling, have enabled researchers to model the hydrological process more precisely. The advanced techniques have adequately proved their efficacy in the simulation modeling of the watershed processes. Hence, in the editors’ opinion, this is the right time to present this Special Issue on the advancement in geospatial techniques and data analytics for sustainable watershed management in a changing environment. This Special Issue will bring all such studies involving diverse tools and techniques for solving a multitude of problems related to watershed management under the changing climate from different parts of the globe together on a single platform.

Dr. Mukesh K. Tiwari
Dr. Deepesh Machiwal
Dr. Adlul Islam
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

data analytics
integrated watershed management
geospatial techniques
spatial data analysis
climate change
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning
impact of climate change on water resources
hydrological modeling
hydrometeorological modeling
remote sensing and GIS
sustainable development
agriculture water management

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1343 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Land Cover Changes and Climate Variability Effects on Catchment Hydrology Using a Physically Distributed Model

by Sanjeet Kumar, Ashok Mishra and Umesh Kumar Singh

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10304; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310304 - 29 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 859

Abstract

Land use/land cover, along with climate variability, play vital roles in hydrological functionality of catchments and are leading threats to inter-related hydrological processes. In the current study, a physically distributed Soil and Water Assessment Tool model is used to investigate the impact of historical changes on the hydrologic response of the Damodar catchment (Jharkhand, India) in terms of inflow to the Panchet reservoir. The model was validated for the monthly runoff and inflow at the outlets of four watersheds and three reservoirs in the Damodar catchment before the assessment of changes in inflow at the Panchet reservoir was performed. The analysis of land cover thematic maps prepared using satellite images of Landsat 4, 5 and 7 showed that from 1972 to 2001, the land cover in the Damodar catchment changed considerably. The interpretation of land cover results indicates that significant increases in settlements (140%), waterbodies (98.42%) and agricultural land (26.71%), along with decreases in wasteland (32.63%) and forest (15.28%), occurred due to development. The Mann–Kendall test was used for measuring the rainfall and temperature for the Damodar catchment, which showed that this region became drier during 1970–2005, with decreases in the annual rainfall and increases in the mean temperature. A simulated hydrological impact under land cover dynamics and climate variability in the historical time frame of 1970–2000 using the model revealed a gradual increase of 26.16% in the Panchet reservoir inflow. The study revealed that the increased inflow is relatively greater under the influence of climate variability due to changes in rainfall and temperature, rather than land cover, that were observed over the region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Geospatial Techniques and Data Analytics for Sustainable Watershed Management in a Changing Environment)

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31 pages, 17538 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Water Harvesting for Improving Food Security and Livelihoods of Smallholders under Different Climatic Conditions of India

by Pankaj Panwar, Deepesh Machiwal, Vandita Kumari, Sanjay Kumar, Pradeep Dogra, S. Manivannan, P. R. Bhatnagar, J. M. S. Tomar, Rajesh Kaushal, Dinesh Jinger, Pradip Kumar Sarkar, L. K. Baishya, Ningthoujam Peetambari Devi, Vijaysinha Kakade, Gaurav Singh, Nongmaithem Raju Singh, S. Gojendro Singh, Abhishek Patel, P. S. Renjith, Sharmistha Pal, V. K. Bhatt, N. K. Sharma, O. P. S. Khola, Sheetal K. Radhakrishnan, V. Kasthuri Thilagam, P. L. Bhutia, Kouberi Nath, Rekha Das, Dhiman Daschaudhuri, Arun Kumar, G. S. Panwar, S. V. Dwivedi, Sanjeev Kumar and B. K. Singh Show full author list Hide full author list

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9230; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129230 - 07 Jun 2023

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Abstract

In India, the per capita availability of water is projected to be 1465 m³ and 1235 m³ by the years 2025 and 2050, respectively, and hence, India would be a water-stressed country as per the United Nations’ standard of less than 1700 m³ per capita water availability. India is predominantly an agricultural-dominant country. Rainfed agriculture in the country contributes 40% of food grain production and supports half of the human population and two-thirds of the livestock population. The country has 15 different agro-climatic zones, and each agro-climatic region has its own constraints of water availability and management along with the potential for their optimum utilization. Such situations warrant the formulation of regional-level strategies. Efforts were made to integrate and evaluate the feasibility of water harvesting and its utilization at twelve different sites representing six different agro-climatic conditions spanning pan India. It was found that water harvesting through tanks/ponds is a feasible approach and can increase the crop production as well as diversification. The results reveal that the range of crop diversification index increased from 0.49–0.85 to 0.65–0.98; the crop productivity index increased from 0.28–0.66 to 0.66–0.90; the cultivated land utilization index increased from 0.05–0.69 to 0.34–0.84; and the crop water productivity index increased from 0.20–0.51 to 0.56–0.96, among other production and diversification indices, due to additional water availability through rainwater harvesting intervention. Moreover, the gross return increased from INR 43,768–704,356 to INR 220,840–1,469,108 ha⁻¹, representing a 108 to 400% increase in the returns due to the availability of water. The findings of this study suggest that the water harvesting in small ponds/tanks is economical and feasible, requires less technological intervention, and increases crop diversification in all the studied agro-climatic conditions, and hence, the same needs to be encouraged in the rainfed areas of the country. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Geospatial Techniques and Data Analytics for Sustainable Watershed Management in a Changing Environment)

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18 pages, 3622 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Land Suitability Planning for Sustainable Mango Production in Vulnerable Region Using Geospatial Multi-Criteria Decision Model

by Sanjani Salunkhe, Sachin Nandgude, Mukesh Tiwari, Harshal Bhange and Sangram B. Chavan

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2619; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032619 - 01 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2489

Abstract

The land suitability in the Ratnagiri district (India) for mango crop has been assessed using a combination of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) with GIS-based analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and sensitivity analysis. Five criteria are applied in this study to analyze land suitability affecting the mango production, viz., topography, climate, soil properties, soil erosion risk, and soil and water conservation practices, all affecting mango production. To prepare the land suitability maps for the mango plants, weights of criteria were identified through expert opinions and a pairwise comparison matrix. A weighted overlay tool available in ArcGIS software was applied in this study for the weighted overlay analysis. The most sensitive parameters were identified by developing and testing a total of 26 weighting schemes. After analyzing the sensitivity of parameters, the parameters related to soil and erosion such as terracing, contour trenching, stone bund, etc. were found as the most significant factors, before and after implementing the conservation measures. As a result, it was observed in this study that after conservation practices were implemented, the area in the highly suitable (19.4%) and moderately suitable (68.8%) classes was expected to rise, while the area in the marginally suitable (7%) class was expected to decrease. This research revealed that combining MCDM with GIS-based AHP as well as sensitivity analysis techniques increased the reliability of MCDM output for each criterion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Geospatial Techniques and Data Analytics for Sustainable Watershed Management in a Changing Environment)

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24 pages, 9384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact Assessment of Soil and Water Conservation Measures on Carbon Sequestration: A Case Study for the Tropical Watershed Using Advanced Geospatial Techniques

by Rahul Shelar, Sachin Nandgude, Mukesh Tiwari, Sunil Gorantiwar and Atul Atre

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010531 - 28 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2277

Abstract

A sustainable method for protecting natural resources is the adoption of recommended soil and water conservation (SWC) measures. SWC measures are well recognized for their effective soil protection and water harvesting. Unfortunately, their significance in climate change mitigation has yet to receive global attention. The present study was conducted to highlight the applicability of SWC measures for carbon management in watersheds. In this study, the impact of SWC measures on land cover, soil erosion, carbon loss, and carbon sequestration were investigated using advanced techniques of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS). The study was conducted in the Central Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV) campus watershed, located in the rainfed region of Maharashtra, India. The watershed is already treated with various scientifically planned SWC measures. Following the implementation of conservation measures in the watershed, average annual soil loss was reduced from 18.68 to 9.41 t ha⁻¹yr⁻¹ and carbon loss was reduced from 348.71 to 205.52 kgC ha⁻¹yr⁻¹. It was found that deep continuous contour trenches (DCCT) constructed on barren, forest, and horticultural land have the soil carbon sequestration rates of 0.237, 0.723, and 0.594 t C ha⁻¹yr⁻¹, respectively, for 0–30 cm depth of soil. Similarly, compartment bunds constructed on agricultural land have a soil carbon sequestration rate of 0.612 t C ha⁻¹yr⁻¹. These findings can be of great importance in the planning and management of climate-resilient watersheds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Geospatial Techniques and Data Analytics for Sustainable Watershed Management in a Changing Environment)

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21 pages, 5464 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Geodesign Techniques for Ecological Engineered Landscaping of Urban River Wetlands: A Case Study of Yuhangtang River

by Tianjie Li, Yan Huang, Chaoguang Gu and Fangbo Qiu

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15612; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315612 - 24 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1663

Abstract

Although geodesign techniques have been studied and developed worldwide, there is still a lack of in-depth application of geodesign workflows for redesigning urban river wetlands with characteristics of ecologically engineered landscaping (EEL). The study mainly aims at putting forward a proper approach in the methodological foundation for EEL practices in river wetlands. A typical EEL-oriented project of river restoration in Hangzhou, China, was conducted in this study. Based on in-situ geodata and tools within QGIS, individual geological factors analysis, with the hierarchical analysis method (AHP) and ecological vulnerability evaluation (EVE), was conducted by experts’ voting and the weighted linear combination (WLC) method. Analysis of hydrological-related factors proceeded. This GIS-based analysis with expert knowledge provided comprehensive redesign solutions for the redesign project, i.e., restoration of the riverbed, spatial restoration in the horizontal and vertical dimensions, and integration with the multifunctional design. Detailed three-dimensional models for design practices were developed to present redesigned topology and space accordingly. Terrain, inundation, and visibility analysis proceeded with parametric mapping programs within Grasshopper to check the feasibility. The adapted geodesign-based workflow in the study also applies to the site analysis, sustainable assessment and landscape planning for urban wetlands EEL projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Geospatial Techniques and Data Analytics for Sustainable Watershed Management in a Changing Environment)

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Review

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19 pages, 1173 KiB

Open AccessReview

Drought Prediction: A Comprehensive Review of Different Drought Prediction Models and Adopted Technologies

by Neeta Nandgude, T. P. Singh, Sachin Nandgude and Mukesh Tiwari

Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11684; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511684 - 28 Jul 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3086

Abstract

Precipitation deficit conditions and temperature anomalies are responsible for the occurrence of various types of natural disasters that cause tremendous loss of human life and economy of the country. Out of all natural disasters, drought is one of the most recurring and complex phenomenons. Prediction of the onset of drought poses significant challenges to societies worldwide. Drought occurrences occur across the world due to a variety of hydro-meteorological causes and anomalies in sea surface temperature. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts and characteristics of drought, its complex nature, and the various factors that influence drought, drought indicators, and advanced drought prediction models. An extensive survey is presented in the different drought prediction models employed in the literature, ranging from statistical approaches to machine learning and deep learning models. It has been found that advanced techniques like machine learning and deep learning models outperform traditional models by improving drought prediction accuracy. This review article critically examines the advancements in technology that have facilitated improved drought prediction, identifies the key challenges and opportunities in the field of drought prediction, and identifies the key trends and topics that are likely to give new directions to the future of drought prediction research. It explores the integration of remote sensing data, meteorological observations, hydrological modeling, and climate indices for enhanced accuracy. Under the frequently changing climate conditions, this comprehensive review provides a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in drought prediction and management and fosters a deeper understanding of their capabilities and limitations. This article paves the way for more accurate and effective drought prediction strategies, contributing to improved resilience and sustainable development in drought-prone regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Geospatial Techniques and Data Analytics for Sustainable Watershed Management in a Changing Environment)

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