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VOL. 5, ISSUE 1 (2023)
Demand effect of land use on water — A case study of North China Plain
Authors
Juana Paul Moiwo, Yahaya Kudish Kawa
Abstract
Land is one of the most important assets of
sovereign nations and humans derive virtually all essentials of life from land.
In spite of this, land use does not always produce desired effects or could
even threaten the life it is supposed to support. This calls for time-to-time
land use analysis to ensure that ecosystem services are sustained, food chain
stopgaps are eliminated, the environment is preserved and life is sustainable.
Water is a small but critical component of terrestrial land surfaces. This
precious but fragile resource is fast depleted in especially the more populated
(semi)-arid regions across the globe. Thus, this study analysis land use change
in relation to water resources availability in the semi-arid North
China region. The study analyzes two Landsat satellite scenes
(September 1979 and August 2009) in ENVI (Environment for Visualizing Images) and
ArcMap environments and only results with less than 10% errors accepted. The
analysis shows that the area of land under water in 1979(2009) is 1.8% (0.6%);
suggesting some 63.8% loss of surface water resources in the region. For
1979‒2009, there is respectively 54.3% and 71.5% loss in the area of land under
forest and wood-grass. Also, the gain in settlement, farmland and others is
respectively 64.8%, 56.5% and 53.9%. Although water accounts for only 1.9% of
the average land use change in the study area, it is an irreplaceable element
of life and the ecosystem. It is therefore important that future land use
activities take measures (such as revegetation of headwater regions) to ensure
that the limited and fragile water resources in the study area are sufficiently
protected.
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Pages:45-51
How to cite this article:
Juana Paul Moiwo, Yahaya Kudish Kawa "Demand effect of land use on water — A case study of North China Plain". International Journal of Environmental and Ecology Research, Vol 5, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 45-51
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