Evaluating the flow regulating functions of natural ecosystems in the Zambezi River Basin
By affecting evapotranspiration and influencing how water is routed and stored in a basin, forests, wetlands and floodplains play a crucial role in the hydrological cycle. Although they are widely attributed a major role in regulating flows (i.e., both attenuating floods and maintaining flow during dry periods), these services are rarely factored into the planning and management of water resources. One reason for the failure to include them is lack of understanding. Very often the extent to which natural regulating functions really occur is unclear. Against this background, this report describes a simple, pragmatic approach for quantifying the flow regulating functions of natural ecosystems. The method has been applied at 14 locations in the Zambezi River Basin.
Main Authors: | McCartney, Matthew P., Xueliang Cai, Smakhtin, Vladimir U. |
---|---|
Format: | Report biblioteca |
Language: | English |
Published: |
International Water Management Institute
2013
|
Subjects: | river basins, ecosystems, flow control, forests, vegetation, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, rain, runoff, hydrological cycle, evaporation, time series analysis, |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39933 https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/PUB148/RR148.pdf https://doi.org/10.5337/2013.206 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Similar Items
-
Application of a quantitative method to evaluate flow regulating functions of ecosystems in the Zambezi Basin. Project report submitted to UNEP under the SADC project "Dam Synchronization and Flood Releases in the Zambezi River Basin".
by: McCartney, Matthew P., et al.
Published: (2011) -
Review of ecosystem flow regulating functions in the Zambezi Basin. Project report submitted to UNEP under the SADC project "Dam Synchronization and Flood Releases in the Zambezi River Basin".
by: McCartney, Matthew P., et al.
Published: (2011) -
Flow duration curve for evaluating ecosystem flow regulating functions in the Zambezi River Basin [Africa].
by: Xueliang Cai, et al.
Published: (2012) -
Evaluating the flow regulating effects of ecosystems in the Mekong and Volta river basins
by: Lacombe, Guillaume, et al.
Published: (2016) -
Regionalization of a conceptual rainfall-runoff model based on similarity of the flow duration curve: a case study from the semi-arid Karkheh Basin, Iran
by: Masih, Ilyas, et al.
Published: (2010-09)