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Identifying the impact of land use land cover change on streamflow and nitrate load following modeling approach: a case study in the upstream Dong Nai River basin, Vietnam

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Abstract

Tri An Reservoir is a vital source of water for agriculture, industry, hydropower, and public usage in Southern Vietnam. Due to human activities, water eutrophication has become a serious problem in recent decades. This study investigated for the first time the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on streamflow and nitrate load from the upstream Dong Nai River basin, which is the largest watershed of the reservoir. The study utilized several LULC scenarios, including LULC 2000, 2010, and 2020. The SWAT model was applied to model the watershed during the period 1997–2009. Results showed that the hydrological model performed satisfactorily based on the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) coefficient, the root mean square error observations standard deviation ratio (RSR), and the percent bias (PBIAS). The average simulated values of monthly streamflow and nitrate load were 453.7, 450.0, 446.7 m3/s and 17,699.43, 17,869.13, 17,590.81 tonnes for the LULC 2000, 2010, and 2020 scenarios, respectively. There were no significant differences in streamflow and nitrate load at the basin level under the different LULC scenarios. However, when looking at the subbasin level, there were differences in nitrate load among the scenarios. This suggests that the impacts of LULC on nitrate load may be more pronounced at smaller scales. Overall, our finding underscores the importance of modeling techniques in predicting the impacts of LULC change on streamflow and water quality, which can ultimately aid in the sustainable management of water resources.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Ma Da Commune People’s Committee for their help during field sampling. We thank anonymous referees for their valuable comments on our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Climate Change, Nong Lam University-Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam

    Tu Hoang Le

  2. Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Tay Nguyen University, 63000, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam

    Thi Ngoc Quyen Nguyen & Thi Xuan Phan Tran

  3. Port and Airport Research Institute, Yokosuka, 239-0826, Japan

    Hao Quang Nguyen

  4. Institute for Environment and Resources, Vietnam National University—Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), Ho Chi Minh, 700000, Vietnam

    Nguyen Cung Que Truong

  5. Dong Nai Technical Resources and Environment Center, Dong Khoi Street, Tan Hiep Ward, 810000, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam

    Thi Luom Le & Van Huynh Pham

  6. Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam

    Thanh Luu Pham

  7. Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 85 Tran Quoc Toan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam

    Thanh Luu Pham, Thi Hoang Yen Tran & Thanh Thai Tran

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Thi Luom Le, Van Huynh Pham, Tran Thi Hoang Yen, Thanh Luu Pham, and Thanh Thai Tran. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Tu Hoang Le and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Thanh Luu Pham.

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Le, T.H., Nguyen, T.N.Q., Tran, T.X.P. et al. Identifying the impact of land use land cover change on streamflow and nitrate load following modeling approach: a case study in the upstream Dong Nai River basin, Vietnam. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 68563–68576 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26887-5

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