An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of Nepal

The upsurges in population, internal migration, and various development works have caused significant land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the Bagmati Basin of Nepal. The effects of climate change such as increased precipitation and temperature are affecting the provision of ecosystem services...

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Main Authors: Shiksha Bastola, Sanghyup Lee, Yongchul Shin, Younghun Jung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/8186
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spelling doaj-6bf5d3b54d8a4b60b05bc061153af01d2020-11-25T03:17:12ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502020-10-01128186818610.3390/su12198186An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of NepalShiksha Bastola0Sanghyup Lee1Yongchul Shin2Younghun Jung3Department of Advanced Science and Technology Convergence, Kyungpook National University, 2559, Gyeongsangdaero, Sangju 37224, KoreaDepartment of Advanced Science and Technology Convergence, Kyungpook National University, 2559, Gyeongsangdaero, Sangju 37224, KoreaSchool of Agricultural Civil & Bio-Industrial Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, KoreaDepartment of Advanced Science and Technology Convergence, Kyungpook National University, 2559, Gyeongsangdaero, Sangju 37224, KoreaThe upsurges in population, internal migration, and various development works have caused significant land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the Bagmati Basin of Nepal. The effects of climate change such as increased precipitation and temperature are affecting the provision of ecosystem services (ES). In this regard, this study particularly treated water yield (WY), soil loss, nitrogen export, and carbon fluctuation in the basin. Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) tools were used to carry out a comparative analysis of ES based on LULC data for 2000 and 2010 and corresponding climate data. To analyze the future period (2010–2099), we have used climate data from the multi-model ensemble (MME) of statistically downscaled and bias-corrected 12 best global climate models (GCMs). A raw GCM analysis (based on historical observational data) from 29 GCMs was done first. The results shows with a subsequent degradation of ES providers like forests and an increment in agricultural and urban areas, ES are on a verge of degradation. Furthermore, a projection of future climate patterns depicts increased precipitation and temperature. Thus, urgent measures are required for the sustainable provision of ES. Outcomes of the study are expected to help in the incorporation of ES in development policies promoting low-impact development along with maintaining ecological and economic goals. The study closes by presenting a recommendation for model application and future study needs.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/8186ecosystem servicesland useclimate changeGCMsBagmati BasinNepal
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Shiksha Bastola
Sanghyup Lee
Yongchul Shin
Younghun Jung
spellingShingle Shiksha Bastola
Sanghyup Lee
Yongchul Shin
Younghun Jung
An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of Nepal
Sustainability
ecosystem services
land use
climate change
GCMs
Bagmati Basin
Nepal
author_facet Shiksha Bastola
Sanghyup Lee
Yongchul Shin
Younghun Jung
author_sort Shiksha Bastola
title An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of Nepal
title_short An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of Nepal
title_full An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of Nepal
title_fullStr An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of Nepal
title_full_unstemmed An Assessment of Environmental Impacts on the Ecosystem Services: Study on the Bagmati Basin of Nepal
title_sort assessment of environmental impacts on the ecosystem services: study on the bagmati basin of nepal
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2020-10-01
description The upsurges in population, internal migration, and various development works have caused significant land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the Bagmati Basin of Nepal. The effects of climate change such as increased precipitation and temperature are affecting the provision of ecosystem services (ES). In this regard, this study particularly treated water yield (WY), soil loss, nitrogen export, and carbon fluctuation in the basin. Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) tools were used to carry out a comparative analysis of ES based on LULC data for 2000 and 2010 and corresponding climate data. To analyze the future period (2010–2099), we have used climate data from the multi-model ensemble (MME) of statistically downscaled and bias-corrected 12 best global climate models (GCMs). A raw GCM analysis (based on historical observational data) from 29 GCMs was done first. The results shows with a subsequent degradation of ES providers like forests and an increment in agricultural and urban areas, ES are on a verge of degradation. Furthermore, a projection of future climate patterns depicts increased precipitation and temperature. Thus, urgent measures are required for the sustainable provision of ES. Outcomes of the study are expected to help in the incorporation of ES in development policies promoting low-impact development along with maintaining ecological and economic goals. The study closes by presenting a recommendation for model application and future study needs.
topic ecosystem services
land use
climate change
GCMs
Bagmati Basin
Nepal
url https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/8186
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