Sustainability, Vol. 11, Pages 2895: Land Use and Land Cover Scenarios for Optimum Water Yield and Sediment Retention Ecosystem Services in Klong U-Tapao Watershed, Songkhla, Thailand (Sustainability)

The Klong U-Tapao watershed is the main source of water supply for agriculture, industry, and household consumption of the Songkhla province and it frequently contributes serious problems to lowland areas, particularly flood and soil erosion. Therefore, land use and land cover (LULC) scenario identification for optimum water yield and sediment retention ecosystem services are necessary. In this study, LULC data in 2010 and 2017 were firstly classified from Landsat data using random forests classifiers, and they were then used to predict LULC change during 2018 –2024 under three different scenarios by CLUE-S model. Later, actual LULC data in 2017 and predictive LULC data of three scenarios were further used to estimate water yield and sediment retention services under the InVEST and LULC scenario for optimum water yield and sediment retention ecosystem services were finally identified using the ecosystem service change index (ESCI). The result of the study showed the major increasing areas of LULC types during 2010–2017 were rubber plantation and urban and built-up area while the major decreasing areas of LULC classes were evergreen forest and miscellaneous land. In addition, the derived LULC prediction of three different scenarios could provide realistic results as expected. Likewise, water yield and sediment retention estimation of three different scenarios could also provide expected results according to characteristics of scenarios’ definitions and climates, soil and terrain, and LULC factors. Finally, LULC of Scenario II was chosen for optimum water yield and sediment retention ecosystem services. In conclusion, the integration of remote sensing technology with advanced classification methods and geospatial models can be used as proficient tools to provide geospatial data on water yield and sediment retention ecosystem services from different scenarios.