Modeling the effects of land-use change on runoff generation in the upper Huaihe River basin, China

Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was applied to the upper Huaihe River basin above the Xixian hydrological controlling station for the purpose of modeling the effects of land-use change on runoff generation by using two-phase (1980s and 1990s) land-use maps, soil type map (1∶200000), 1980–1999 daily time series of rainfall from the upper Huaihe River basin. The results obtained suggest that under the similar condition of rainfall, soil texture and terrain slope, the advantage for runoff generation descend with farmland, paddy field, woodland. The outputs could provide important references for Sustainable Utilization of Water Resources and river health protection in the upper stream of Huaihe River.