Sensitivity of Land-Use Change to Streamflow in Chaobai River Basin

Water problems and water crises are of widespread concern around the world against the background of climate change and intense human activity. As the only source of drinking water in Beijing being confronted with severe water shortages, the Chaobai River Basin is extraordinarily important. Land use, being a common and variable influence on streamflow, has been studied widely, whereas spatiotemporal differences and the complex mechanism of land use's effect on runoff are difficult to explain. On the basis of a series of data about land use and runoff depth in the Chaobai River Basin, the sensitivity of land-use change to streamflow was explored using the principle of elasticity. Results of t-tests and F-tests showed that the difference in stream flow between the two river basins is not explained by precipitation; thus, land-use change is the main cause of stream flow variation. The influence of forests on annual runoff depth was significant and increased gradually from 1978 to 2008, whereas the effect of bare land has been insignificant in all time periods. The effect of land use on seasonal and monthly runoff depth showed significant variation. On the whole, the effects of land-use change on streamflow in summer were obvious, especially in August. It is therefore concluded that forest changes are the main factors in streamflow variation in summer. DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000669. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.