Impact of land use changes and management practices on groundwater resources in Kolar district, Southern India

Garg, K K and Anantha, K H and Nune, R and Akuraju, V R and Singh, P and Gumma, M K and Dixit, S and Ragab, R (2020) Impact of land use changes and management practices on groundwater resources in Kolar district, Southern India. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (TSI), 31. pp. 1-21. ISSN 2214-5818

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Abstract

Study region: This study analyzes the impact of land use changes on the hydrology of Kolar district in the state of Karnataka, India. Kolar receives on average 565 mm (σ = 130) rainfall during June to October and has a wide gap between its water supply and demand. Study focus: This research identifies the reasons and causes of the gap. A water balance model was successfully calibrated and validated against measurements of groundwater level, recharge and surface runoff. New hydrological insights for the region: The study revealed that between 1972 and 2011, there was a major shift from grass and rainfed crop lands to eucalyptus plantation and irrigated cultivation. About 17.7 % and 18 % of the district area converted into eucalyptus plantation and irrigated lands during this period, respectively. Eucalyptus plantations tended to cause large losses by ET leading to increase in soil moisture deficit and reduction in the recharge to groundwater and in surface runoff (approx. 30 %). The irrigation demand of the district increased from 57 mm (1972) to 140 mm (2011) which resulted in increased groundwater abstraction by 145 %. The expansion of the irrigated area is the major contributing factor for widening the demand-supply gap (62 %) of the freshwater availability. Results could help various stakeholders, including district and national authorities to develop the most suitable water management strategies in order to close the gap between water supply and demand.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : Asia
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Water balance, Groundwater recharge, Water table depletion, Groundwater resilience, Land use change, Eucalyptus
Subjects:	Others > Water Resources
Depositing User:	Mr Arun S
Date Deposited:	28 Oct 2020 09:49
Last Modified:	28 Oct 2020 09:49
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/11633
Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100732
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	We sincerely acknowledge the Department of Mines and Geology and the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of Kolar district for sharing historic groundwater table data and land use data. We also acknowledge the partial funding received from CGIAR Research Program of Water Land and Ecosystem (CRP-WLE) and Bhoochetana program of Government of Karnataka towards ICRISAT scientists time for data analysis and writing the manuscript.
Links:	Google Scholar

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