Author(s)

Leihua Dong, Jiwu Wang, Conglin Zhang and Upmanu Lall

Corresponding Author

Conglin Zhang

ABSTRACT

The effects of land use change induced by human activities on hydrology have been a topic of much discussion in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to assess hydrologic response to land use variance between 1992 and 2003 in lower-middle Yangtze River using the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method. In terms of the variance of direct runoff yield under 1992 and 2003 land use, it is concluded: (1) deforestation, agricultural area and water body reduction are the main reasons for the decreasing of direct runoff yield; (2) the human activities have much greater impact on direct runoff compared to the climate change in lower-middle Yangtze River during the period of 1992 to 2003.

KEYWORDS

Land use, direct runoff, SCS-CN method, yangtze River