Introduction to special section on impacts of land use change on water resources

Water Resources Research
By: , and 

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Abstract

Changes in land use have potentially large impacts on water resources, yet quantifying these impacts remains among the more challenging problems in hydrology. Water, food, energy, and climate are linked through complex webs of direct and indirect effects and feedbacks. Land use is undergoing major changes due not only to pressures for more efficient food, feed, and fiber production to support growing populations but also due to policy shifts that are creating markets for biofuel and agricultural carbon sequestration. Hydrologic systems embody flows of water, solutes, sediments, and energy that vary even in the absence of human activity. Understanding land use impacts thus necessitates integrated scientific approaches. Field measurements, remote sensing, and modeling studies are shedding new light on the modes and mechanisms by which land use changes impact water resources. Such studies can help deconflate the interconnected influences of human actions and natural variations on the quantity and quality of soil water, surface water, and groundwater, past, present, and future.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Introduction to special section on impacts of land use change on water resources
Series title Water Resources Research
DOI 10.1029/2009WR007937
Volume 45
Issue 7
Year Published 2009
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Contributing office(s) Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
Description Article W00A00; 3 p.
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