A study of the impact of landuse on some hydrological characteristics : A dissertation submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Post-graduate Diploma in Agricultural Science in Lincoln University

Abstract

This project relates to the Huai Hong Krai Agricultural Development Center, which was established under the royal initiative of His Majesty the King of Thailand. The Center started its function in December, 1982, aiming demonstrating appropriate towards studying, researching and methodologies for the development of catchments in the region. The scope of the activities in the Center includes forest redevelopment, agronomic and horticultural development, fishery and livestock development. According to the above activities, the landuse patterns of the Center have been divided into five zones: a) Forest area b) Agro-forestry area c) Agricultural area d) Pasture area e) Water bodies This study is a part of a soil conservation research programme which has been set up to monitor and evaluate the impact of landuse patterns that are taking place in the Center on the quality of the catchment. The research programme is aimed towards finding guidelines to determine how far each catchment can be deforested and converted to arable land before its quality is virtually ruined. And what are the proper methodologies to carry out this task. The study itself concentrates on monitoring and evaluating the effect of various landuse patterns on some hydrological characteristics which are contributing to the catchment quality.