Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs
Water harvesting with Small Agricultural Reservoirs (SmAR) represents a solution for sustainable water management in different contexts. However, many technical challenges are still open despite its widespread application. One of the most relevant, for the sustainable management of SmAR, is represen...
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | International Soil and Water Conservation Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633925000073 |
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| author | Elia Degli Innocenti Giulio Castelli Simone Pozzolini Federico Preti Elena Bresci Enrica Caporali |
| author_facet | Elia Degli Innocenti Giulio Castelli Simone Pozzolini Federico Preti Elena Bresci Enrica Caporali |
| author_sort | Elia Degli Innocenti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water harvesting with Small Agricultural Reservoirs (SmAR) represents a solution for sustainable water management in different contexts. However, many technical challenges are still open despite its widespread application. One of the most relevant, for the sustainable management of SmAR, is represented by the loss of storage volume caused by the inflow of sediments, but the analysis of the dynamics of sedimentation for such small structures has received relatively little interest so far. This study aims to implement a validated model simulating the hydrology and erosion dynamics of the catchment upstream of a SmAR in the Mediterranean basin, specifically in the hilly area of Crete Senesi, Tuscany Region (Italy). Here, wine production is particularly developed, but not within the catchment of study, where the cultivation of cereals and forage is practiced. Our analysis aimed at estimating how much the rate of sediment accumulation in the reservoir would vary with the replacement of currently arable land with vineyards. A model was implemented on the HEC-HMS software, maximizing the value of existent low-cost data (Google Earth imagery and regional erosion maps) for its validation. The validated model was then used to test alternative land use scenarios in the upstream catchment, showing its flexibility for supporting decision-making over SmAR management. The model performed with an error always below 5% on the SmAR area detected by satellite. Erosion values calculated with HEC-HMS were in line, but lower than the estimation made by the Tuscany region with a GIS-based procedure. The scenario analysis showed that the simulated land use change led to a high value of annual sediment accumulation in the reservoir (216% of the original value of erosion obtained with cereals and other crops), showing the indirect cost of changing the cropping patterns to vineyard production. The approach can be replicated at the local scale in all other contexts where similar, and relatively easy-to-get, data are available. Further development of the present approach can include the replication of similar low-cost methodologies on other case studies, refinement of the erosion modelling and sensitivity analysis. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cb3fc00a8337450c8020b83cd1dac8a3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2095-6339 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Soil and Water Conservation Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-cb3fc00a8337450c8020b83cd1dac8a32025-08-20T02:48:22ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.International Soil and Water Conservation Research2095-63392025-06-0113242243510.1016/j.iswcr.2025.02.001Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirsElia Degli Innocenti0Giulio Castelli1Simone Pozzolini2Federico Preti3Elena Bresci4Enrica Caporali5H.S. INGEGNERIA S.R.L., Empoli, Florence, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy; UNESCO Chair in Hydropolitics, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Institute for Environmental Sciences (ISE), University of Geneva, Switzerland; Corresponding author. Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.H.S. INGEGNERIA S.R.L., Empoli, Florence, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, ItalyDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), University of Florence, ItalyWater harvesting with Small Agricultural Reservoirs (SmAR) represents a solution for sustainable water management in different contexts. However, many technical challenges are still open despite its widespread application. One of the most relevant, for the sustainable management of SmAR, is represented by the loss of storage volume caused by the inflow of sediments, but the analysis of the dynamics of sedimentation for such small structures has received relatively little interest so far. This study aims to implement a validated model simulating the hydrology and erosion dynamics of the catchment upstream of a SmAR in the Mediterranean basin, specifically in the hilly area of Crete Senesi, Tuscany Region (Italy). Here, wine production is particularly developed, but not within the catchment of study, where the cultivation of cereals and forage is practiced. Our analysis aimed at estimating how much the rate of sediment accumulation in the reservoir would vary with the replacement of currently arable land with vineyards. A model was implemented on the HEC-HMS software, maximizing the value of existent low-cost data (Google Earth imagery and regional erosion maps) for its validation. The validated model was then used to test alternative land use scenarios in the upstream catchment, showing its flexibility for supporting decision-making over SmAR management. The model performed with an error always below 5% on the SmAR area detected by satellite. Erosion values calculated with HEC-HMS were in line, but lower than the estimation made by the Tuscany region with a GIS-based procedure. The scenario analysis showed that the simulated land use change led to a high value of annual sediment accumulation in the reservoir (216% of the original value of erosion obtained with cereals and other crops), showing the indirect cost of changing the cropping patterns to vineyard production. The approach can be replicated at the local scale in all other contexts where similar, and relatively easy-to-get, data are available. Further development of the present approach can include the replication of similar low-cost methodologies on other case studies, refinement of the erosion modelling and sensitivity analysis.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633925000073Water harvestingErosionSedimentationVineyardsWater balanceSediment balance |
| spellingShingle | Elia Degli Innocenti Giulio Castelli Simone Pozzolini Federico Preti Elena Bresci Enrica Caporali Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs International Soil and Water Conservation Research Water harvesting Erosion Sedimentation Vineyards Water balance Sediment balance |
| title | Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs |
| title_full | Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs |
| title_fullStr | Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs |
| title_short | Modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs |
| title_sort | modelling land use changes impacts on the silting of small agricultural water harvesting reservoirs |
| topic | Water harvesting Erosion Sedimentation Vineyards Water balance Sediment balance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633925000073 |
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