Your search found 20 records
1 Tahir, A. A.; Chevallier, P.; Arnaud, Y.; Ashraf, M.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif. 2015. Snow cover trend and hydrological characteristics of the Astore River basin (Western Himalayas) and its comparison to the Hunza basin (Karakoram region) Science of the Total Environment, 505:748-761. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.065]
Snow cover ; Glaciers ; Snowmelt ; Hydrological regime ; River basins ; Climatic data ; Meteorological stations ; Satellite observation ; Water resources ; Catchment areas / Pakistan / India / Western Himalayas / Karakoram Region / Indus River Basin / Astore River Basin / Hunza Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046709)
(4.13 MB)
A large proportion of Pakistan's irrigation water supply is taken from the Upper Indus River Basin (UIB) in the Himalaya–Karakoram–Hindukush range. More than half of the annual flow in the UIB is contributed by five of its snow and glacier-fed sub-basins including the Astore (Western Himalaya — south latitude of the UIB) and Hunza (Central Karakoram — north latitude of the UIB) River basins. Studying the snow cover, its spatiotemporal change and the hydrological response of these sub-basins is important so as to better managewater resources. This paper compares new data from the Astore River basin (mean catchment elevation, 4100 m above sea level; m asl afterwards), obtained using MODIS satellite snow cover images, with data from a previouslystudied high-altitude basin, the Hunza (mean catchment elevation, 4650 m asl). The hydrological regime of this sub-catchment was analyzed using the hydrological and climate data available at different altitudes from the basin area. The results suggest that the UIB is a region undergoing a stable or slightly increasing trend of snow cover in the southern (Western Himalayas) and northern (Central Karakoram) parts. Discharge from the UIB is a combination of snow and glacier melt with rainfall-runoff at southern part, but snow and glacier melt are dominant at the northern part of the catchment. Similar snow cover trends (stable or slightly increasing) but different river flow trends (increasing in Astore and decreasing in Hunza) suggest a sub-catchment level study of the UIB to understand thoroughly its hydrological behavior for better flood forecasting and water resources management.
2 Ashraf, M.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Shakir, A. S.; Tahir, A. A.; Ahmad. A. 2015. Sediment control interventions and river flow dynamics: impact on sediment entry into the large canals. Environmental Earth Sciences, 74(7):5465-5474. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4604-3]
Sedimentation ; Rivers ; Stream flow ; Monsoon climate ; Flooding ; Canal irrigation ; Water yield ; Flow discharge / India / Pakistan / Chenab River / Marala Ravi Link Canal / Upper Chenab Canal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047101)
(0.77 MB)
At Marala barrage, two canals, i.e. Marala Ravi Link Canal (MRLC) and Upper Chenab Canal (UCC) off-take from left side of the River Chenab. MRLC has a very old history of experiencing sedimentation issues. Several attempts have been made to counterfoil or minimize this problem in the recent past. Two remarkable measures are the remodeling of MRLC in 2000-2001 (in-tervention-1) and the shifting of the confluence point of a heavily sediment-laden upstream tributary of the Chenab River by construction of a spur dike in 2004 (intervention-2). This paper investigates the effectiveness of these structural interventions as sedimentation control measures. The baseline period is selected from 1997 to 2000 and the impact is analyzed for two post-intervention time steps, i.e. evaluation period-1 ranging from 2001 to 2004 and evaluation period-2 from 2005 to 2011. Results obtained from double mass analysis revealed that sediment load increased by 33 and 8 % due to intervention-1, while decreased by 12 and 22 % due to intervention-2 in MRLC and UCC, respectively. The results suggest that monsoon floods are mainly responsible for sediment loading in the canals (66 % for UCC and 73 % for MRLC), supported by the finding that effective discharge (1900 m3 s-1) is almost twice the mean annual river discharge. The discharge classes between 900 and 2900 m3 s- 1 are mainly responsible for major proportion (89 % in MRLC and 86 % in UCC) of the total sediment load over the 15-year study period. The intervention-1 could not minimize the sediment entry into the canals; rather it aggravated the situation. The intervention-2, however, proved a useful structural measure in this regard.
3 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Balkhair, K. S.; Masood, A.; Sarwar, S. 2018. Optimized shifts in sowing times of field crops to the projected climate changes in an agro-climatic zone of Pakistan. Experimental Agriculture, 54(2):201-213. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479716000156]
Climate change ; Agroclimatic zones ; Sowing date ; Farmland ; Cotton industry ; Wheats ; Emission ; Temperature ; Rain ; Water requirements ; Water availability ; Water supply ; Agriculture ; Precipitation ; Irrigation canals / Pakistan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047487)
(0.43 MB)
This paper evaluates 30-year (2013–2042) projections of the selected climatic parameters in cotton/wheat agro-climatic zone of Pakistan. A statistical bias correction procedure was adopted to eliminate the systematic errors in output of three selected general circulationmodels (GCM) under A2 emission scenario. A transfer function was developed between the GCM outputs and the observed time series of the climatic parameters (base period: 1980–2004) and applied to GCM future projections. The predictions detected seasonal shifts in rainfall and increasing temperature trend which in combination can affect the crop water requirements (CWR) at different phonological stages of the two major crops (i.e. wheat and cotton). CROPWAT model is used to optimize the shifts in sowing dates as a climate change adaptation option. The results depict that with reference to the existing sowing patterns, early sowing of wheat and late sowing of cotton will favour decreased CWR of these crops.
4 Ashraf, M.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Shakir, A. S. 2016. River bank erosion and channel evolution in sand-bed braided reach of River Chenab: role of floods during different flow regimes. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 9(2):1-10. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-2114-y]
Riverbank protection ; Erosion control ; Flooding ; Landsat ; Imagery ; Sand ; Open channels ; Monsoon climate ; Flow discharge ; Stream flow ; Environmental protection / Pakistan / Chenab River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047488)
(5.03 MB)
Braided reaches of large rivers in alluvial plains show major morphological changes, particularly the external bank erosion, due to the flood events. This paper highlights the bank erosion and channel evolution induced by eleven different flood events in a 7-km long reach of the River Chenab, Pakistan. The impact of floods on river bank erosion and channel evolution is analyzed under low and high flow conditions. Flood-induced changes, for river’s external banks and channel evolution, were assessed by processing Landsat ETM+ images in ArcGIS tool, and their inter-relationship is evaluated through regression analysis. The results revealed that the major morphological changes were triggered by the flood events occurred during the high flow or Monsoon season (July–September), whereas the flood events of similar magnitude occurring during low flow season (October–March) did not induce such changes. Mostly, the erosion remained limited to the middle part of the reach,where the branch channel flows along the bank. The average annual bank erosion rates are much higher as compared with a global scale. Data analysis showed a strong correlation between the mean high flows and total bank erosion indicating that Monsoon seasonal flows and floods are responsible for bank erosion. The present study further identifies the river bank locations highly susceptible to erosion by developing the correlation between bank erosion and branch channel progression. Strong correlation for bank erosion could be established with the shift of branch channels position flowing along the banks in braided reaches of sand bed rivers. However, the presence of sand bars along the river banks resulted in reduced erosion that weakens this relationship. The findings of the present study can help develop better understanding about the bank erosion process and constitute a key element to inform and improve river bank management.
5 Anwar, Arif A.; Ahmad, W.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Ul Haq, Z. 2016. The potential of precision surface irrigation in the Indus Basin Irrigation System. Irrigation Science, 34:(5)379-396. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-016-0509-5]
Irrigation systems ; Surface irrigation ; Irrigation canals ; Soil texture ; Infiltration ; Discharges ; Performance indexes ; Water rates ; Farmers ; Crop production ; Evapotranspiration / South Asia / Pakistan / Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Indus Basin Irrigation System / Maira Branch Canal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047549)
(2.22 MB)
In this research we explore the potential of precision surface irrigation to improve irrigation performance under the warabandi system prevalent in the Indus Basin Irrigation System. Data on field dimensions, field slopes along with characteristic soil infiltration properties and outlet discharge were collected through a survey of a sample tertiary unit of Maira Branch Canal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The performance of all fields in the tertiary unit was analysed and reported in aggregate, with detailed results of one field presented for illustration. The objective is to determine the optimum field layout, defined as the number of border strips, for the observed field characteristics to maximize performance. The results indicate that performance improvement is relatively easily achievable through changes in field layout within current irrigation services. Estimated application efficiency is sensitive to the selected depth of application, and it is important that a practical depth of application is selected. We recommend a depth of application of 50 mm and show how this is achievable and leads to a low quarter distribution uniformity of 0.750 and an application efficiency of 80 %. We also explore the feasibility of a 10-day warabandi rather than the 7-day warabandi and show that there is no significant change in the performance under a 10-day warabandi.
6 Anwar, Arif A.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; de Vries, T. T. 2016. Canal operations planner. I: maximizing delivery performance ratio. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 142(12):1-12. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001091]
Irrigation systems ; Irrigation canals ; Irrigation operation ; Seasonal cropping ; Performance evaluation ; Equity ; Mathematical models ; Linear models ; Linear programming / Pakistan / Punjab / Indus Basin Irrigation System
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047652)
(0.87 MB)
A key operational objective for the management of the Indus Basin Irrigation System of Pakistan is the distribution of water among tertiary canals in a transparent and equitable manner. Decisions on canal operations are disseminated as a Canal Operation Plan, or a Rotational Program, for each crop season for every canal system. The current practice for developing these plans is qualitative based on heuristics that have remain unchanged since the early development of this vast irrigation system. This paper uses operations research tools to develop a Canal Operations Planner. Allocation cost is defined as a function of the delivery performance ratio and maximizing this function. The performance of the modules is evaluated using spillage and the Gini index as a measure of equity. Two models, namely; linear programme-delivery performance ratio (LP-DPR) and non linear programme-delivery performance ratio (NLP-DPR) are presented and the results are compared to performance under current canal planning and operational practice. Both models improve the equity when compared to existing operations. The NLP-DPR model outperforms the LP-DPR both on equity and minimizing spillage.
7 Anwar, Arif A.; de Vries, T. T.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif. 2016. Canal operations planner. II: minimizing inequity. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 142(12):1-7. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001092]
Irrigation systems ; Irrigation canals ; Irrigation operation ; Water distribution ; Water supply ; Equity ; Seasonal cropping ; Performance indexes ; Farmers ; Mathematical models / Pakistan / Indus Basin Irrigation System
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047653)
(0.38 MB)
Equity of water distribution is an oft-repeated and stated aim of the warabandi irrigation systems prevalent in Pakistan and parts of India. The Canal Operations Plan is one tool used to operationalize equitable distribution of water. These plans are created for every canal system every crop season. This companion paper applies operations research tools to this problem and explicitly minimizes inequity as measured by the Gini index of the cumulative depth of water supplied. The results are analyzed and compared with those obtained from the models of the companion paper that maximize delivery performance ratio (DPR) and conclude that the linear programme-delivery performance ratio (LP-DPR) model given in the companion paper is overall slightly superior to the linear programme-inequity (LP-INEQ) model presented in this paper. This paper highlights that a performance indicator of equity such as the Gini may not fully capture the sense of fairness from a farmer’s perspective. Application of this research is demonstrated through an engineering application in the preparation of a canal operations plan for the summer 2016 and winter 2016–2017 crop season.
8 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Anwar, Arif A.; Aslam, Muhammad. 2017. Groundwater monitoring and management: status and options in Pakistan. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 135:143-153. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2016.12.016]
Groundwater management ; Groundwater development ; Water levels ; Water quality ; Water table ; Monitoring ; Food security ; Farmers organizations ; Irrigation canals ; Wells ; Tube wells ; Salinity ; Surveys ; Aquifers / Pakistan / Punjab
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048019)
Due to extensive groundwater development in the recent past, Pakistan now faces enormous challenges of groundwater management as it struggles to ensure food security for its rapidly growing population. These management challenges require a re-balancing of surface and groundwater monitoring objectives and approaches in the country. This article presents the current status of the groundwater monitoring and management in Pakistan. A compelling case is presented for optimization of material resources in improving groundwater level and quality data by proposing to use farmer organizations as a source of crowd sourced groundwater information. The authors showcase new methods to collect groundwater data and demonstrate use of automatic recording instruments for groundwater monitoring in a tertiary canal command area in the Pakistan’s Punjab. The results suggest that the potential for broader impact by engaging farmer organization and expanding monitoring networks is attractive. A common concern about long term deployment of automatic instruments is that the observation wells are not purged before extracting water quality samples. The authors address this concern through a field experiment by utilizing capabilities of automatic recording instruments.
9 Sarwar, M. K.; Chaudary, Z. A.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Khan, D. 2016. Evaluation of air vents and ramp angles on the performance of orifice spillway aerators. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 35(1):85-93.
Irrigation engineering ; Irrigation efficiency ; Water power ; Stream flow ; Flow discharge ; Energy technology ; Dam construction ; Spillways ; Impact assessment ; Reservoirs ; Hydraulics / Pakistan / Gilgit-Baltistan / Gujranwala / Bunji Hydropower Project
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048020)
http://journals.uetjournals.com/index.php/JEAS/article/download/277/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048020.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048020.pdf
(1.33 MB)
The performance of steep slope ( > 30o) orifice spillway aerators by varying air vent size and ramp angles were experimentally studied. Three air vents of different sizes and five ramps with different angles were tested on a physical model of Bunji dam spillway, which was constructed at Irrigation Research Station Nandipur, Gujranwala. In each case, the cavity length, cavity pressure, flow velocity and water depth at the aerator were measured by changing operating conditions. Non-dimensional jet length ( ), air entrainment co-efficient (ß) and non-dimensional cavity pressure (Pn) were computed to evaluate the performance of the aerator against ramp angle and air vent size. Results noted an improvement in the performance of aerator with the increase of air vent size. However, the ramp initially improved the performance of the aerator but at higher reservoir level with large gate opening, no significant improvement in the performance of the aerator was noted, rather negative impact was observed due to reduction in cavity pressure.
10 de Vries, T. T.; Anwar, Arif A.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif. 2017. Canal operations planner. III: minimizing inequity with delivery performance ratio relaxation. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 143(9):1-13. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001218]
Canal construction ; Performance testing ; Performance indexes ; Irrigation systems ; Water distribution ; Equity ; Cost analysis ; Models / Pakistan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048298)
(0.80 MB)
For many large irrigation systems, distributing water equitably is a stated management objective. Canal operations plans specify which canal to operate at what discharge for each irrigation interval to achieve the stated objective. In this study, a function of the Gini index is incorporated in to an integer program that can develop a canal operations plan. In contrast with earlier canal operations planners that minimize inequity, the operations planner presented herein does not constrain the discharge in a canal to a binary integer. Rather, the user can define an allocation cost function that in turn defines the preferred operational range of discharge over which any canal should be operated for any interval. The operations planner can also be modified to permit spillages. The model is applied to a secondary canal in Pakistan, and the sensitivity of the results to operational range and permissible spillage are explored. An engineering application of the model is presented.
11 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Ahmad, Waqas; Shah, Muhammad Azeem; Khattak, M. S. 2019. Climate change evidence and community level autonomous adaptation measures in a canal irrigated agriculture system of Pakistan. Climate and Development, 11(3): 203-211. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2018.1442803]
Climate change adaptation ; Irrigation systems ; Irrigation canals ; Irrigated farming ; Rain ; Farmers ; Agricultural production ; Temperature ; Precipitation ; Water availability / Pakistan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048815)
This paper predicts climate change pattern and outlines suitable adaptation strategies related to irrigated agricultural practices in Hakra Branch Canal Command (HBCC) of Pakistan. Climate change predictions were simulated using models perturbed with climatic data and A2 emission scenario. A biased correction method was applied to the simulated future climatic data. The study site reveals different nature of vulnerabilities to the changing climate based on climate change scenario downscaling. The variation in rainfall patterns, especially the seasonal shifts, would have likely impact on water availability for irrigation and subsequently on the crop growth. A detailed survey was conducted to investigate how farmers in HBCC perceive variations in weather patterns and the proposed adaptation measures. The statistical significance of farmers’ perceptions and decisions about adaptation measures are reported with regard to their location along the secondary canals. The literature offers a range of potential climate change adaptation measures to the farming community that sometimes are not coherent with the national policy and the local practice. Farmers generally feel it difficult to pick a suitable adaptation option that suits their particular conditions. This research proposes a simple yet robust criterion to prioritize the potential climate change adaptation measures. This criterion (colloquially known as 3P) is based on three subjective factors – i.e. policy, prevalence and practicability – and it could be scaled out to other areas where results of climate change studies are available.
12 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Sarwar, M. K.; Tahir, A. A.; Yar, M. 2017. Effect of irrigation application on soil and land productivity of wheat under semi-arid environment. Journal of Agricultural Research, 55(1):1-14.
Soil fertility ; Soil sampling ; Irrigation management ; Irrigation water ; Land productivity ; Triticum aestivum ; Canals ; Groundwater ; Semiarid zones ; Wheat ; Crop yield ; Electrical conductivity ; Water supply / Pakistan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048789)
http://apply.jar.punjab.gov.pk/upload/1496899694_126_1._JAR_396.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048789.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048789.pdf
(365 KB)
A study was conducted in Sargodha, Pakistan during the year 2011 to testify irrigation practices as a method for reclaiming salt affected soil. Field experiments were conducted on saline-sodic and uncultivated land divided into 12 field plots. Six irrigation treatments, each replicated on two field plots, were applied to test the responses of soil and wheat crop yield. Six irrigation treatments combined two variables: (i) source of irrigation (canal water, brackish groundwater and mixed in 50:50 proportion) and (ii) irrigation scheduling (fixed-rotation or Traditional Warabandi (TWB) and 75% management-allowed depletion (MAD)). The electrical conductivity (ECe) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of saturated paste extracts of soil were observed at four depth intervals ranging from zero to 90 cm during the four crop growth stages. Only top 15 cm soil layers of field plots could be reclaimed upto the permissible ECe level of < 4 dS/m where canal water was applied for irrigation. In deeper layers (31 to 90cm) the ECe increased from the ambient levels in response to irrigation treatments. The crop yield (wheat grains in kg/ha) was measured from all individual field plots. Canal water application with 75% MAD scheduling proved to be the optimum treatment giving average yield of 1265 kg per hectare while the treatment with groundwater application under TWB showed the lowest average yield (435 kg/ha).
13 Anwar, Arif A.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif. 2018. Pakistan’s Water Apportionment Accord of 1991: 25 years and beyond. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 144(1):1-13. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000831]
Legislation ; Agreements ; Treaties ; Water accounting ; Water resources ; Water allocation ; Water distribution ; Water use ; Environmental flows ; Infrastructure ; Monitoring / Pakistan / Indus River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048816)
https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%29WR.1943-5452.0000831
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048816.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048816.pdf
The apportionment of waters of the Indus River System between the provinces of Pakistan is widely hailed as a historic agreement. This agreement (herein referred to as the Accord) was signed into effect in 1991, just over 25 years ago. The Accord lacks a clearly stated objective and hence it is difficult to review the Accord against its objective. This paper presents a detailed thematic review of the Accord and interprets the literature and data sets that have become available over the last 25 years. Although the Accord leaves room for interpretation, which is often biased to a particular perspective, an obvious starting point that has been highlighted in the literature is to improve water accounting in the Indus basin and to clarify and document the Operating Rules. Over the next 25 years, demographic change, socioeconomic change, and climate change in the Indus Basin will place this Accord under increased scrutiny.
14 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Anwar, Arif A.; Ali Shah, Muhammad Azeem. 2019. Revisiting telemetry in Pakistan’s Indus Basin Irrigation System. Water, 11(11):1-20. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112315]
Irrigation systems ; Telemetry ; Flow discharge ; Estimation ; Sensors ; Irrigation canals ; Rivers ; Data collection ; Quality assurance ; Measuring instruments / Pakistan / Indus Basin Irrigation System
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049422)
(1.82 MB) (1.82 MB)
The Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS) lacks a system for measuring canal inflows, storages, and outflows that is trusted by all parties, transparent, and accessible. An earlier attempt for telemetering flows in the IBIS did not deliver. There is now renewed interest in revisiting telemetry in Pakistan’s IBIS at both national and provincial scales. These investments are typically approached with an emphasis on hardware procurement contracts. This paper describes the experience from field installations of flow measurement instruments and communication technology to make the case that canal flows can be measured at high frequency and displayed remotely to the stakeholders with minimal loss of data and lag time between measurement and display. The authors advocate rolling out the telemetry system across IBIS as a data as a service (DaaS) contract rather than as a hardware procurement contract. This research addresses a key issue of how such a DaaS contract can assure data quality, which is often a concern with such contracts. The research findings inform future telemetry investment decisions in large-scale irrigation systems, particularly the IBIS.
15 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Ashraf, M.; Anwar, Arif A. 2021. Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions. Sustainability, 13(6):3547. (Special issue: Sustainable Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Engineering Applications) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063547]
Soil erosion ; Sediment yield ; Irrigation systems ; Sediment transport ; Modelling ; Arid zones ; Sustainability ; Strategies ; Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation ; Rainfall-runoff relationships ; Normalized difference vegetation index ; Crop management ; Rivers ; Catchment areas ; Reservoirs ; Canals / Pakistan / Afghanistan / Gomal River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050370)
(4.00 MB) (4.00 MB)
Soil erosion is a serious environmental issue in the Gomal River catchment shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan. The river segment between the Gomal Zam dam and a diversion barrage (~40 km) brings a huge load of sediments that negatively affects the downstream irrigation system, but the sediment sources have not been explored in detail in this sub-catchment. The analysis of flow and sediment data shows that the significant sediment yield is still contributing to the diversion barrage despite the Gomal Zam dam construction. However, the sediment share at the diversion barrage from the sub-catchment is much larger than its relative size. A spatial assessment of erosion rates in the sub-catchment with the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) shows that most of the sub-catchment falls into very severe and catastrophic erosion rate categories (>100 t h-1y -1 ). The sediment entry into the irrigation system can be managed both by limiting erosion in the catchment and trapping sediments into a hydraulic structure. The authors tested a scenario by improving the crop management factor in RUSLE as a catchment management option. The results show that improving the crop management factor makes little difference in reducing the erosion rates in the sub-catchment, suggesting other RUSLE factors, and perhaps slope is a more obvious reason for high erosion rates. This research also explores the efficiency of a proposed settling reservoir as a sediment load management option for the flows diverted from the barrage. The proposed settling reservoir is simulated using a computer-based sediment transport model. The modeling results suggest that a settling reservoir can reduce sediment entry into the irrigation network by trapping 95% and 25% for sand and silt particles, respectively. The findings of the study suggest that managing the sub-catchment characterizing an arid region and having steep slopes and barren mountains is a less compelling option to reduce sediment entry into the irrigation system compared to the settling reservoir at the diversion barrage. Managing the entire catchment (including upstream of Gomal Zam dam) can be a potential solution, but it would require cooperative planning due to the transboundary nature of the Gomal river catchment. The output of this research can aid policy and decision-makers to sustainably manage sedimentation issues in the irrigation network.
16 Anwar, Arif A.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif. 2021. Routing field channels through a tertiary unit with heterogeneous fields. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 147(9):04021040. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001592]
Irrigation systems ; Canals ; Open channels ; Water delivery ; Linear programming ; Models ; Water user associations ; Irrigation scheduling ; Costs ; Farmers / Pakistan / Indus Basin Irrigation System / Gomal Zam Irrigation System
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050548)
(5.35 MB)
The extensive irrigation systems of South Asia are predominately a hierarchy of canals delivering water to a tertiary unit. A network of field channels transfers water within the tertiary unit to the field where it is applied using surface irrigation. The network of field channels within a tertiary unit is often left to the farmers/farmer associations to construct, maintain, and operate. This paper develops a mathematical model/algorithm for routing the field channel along the existing field boundaries such that every field is serviced by a field channel and minimizing the total length of the field channel as a proxy measure of the cost of construction of field channels. The models developed in this paper are formulated as integer programs, implemented in a general-purpose solver. The model is applied to a tertiary unit of the Gomal Zam Irrigation System in Pakistan and shows that for this particular application, the optimized total length of field channels is 9,463 m compared with 11,313 m when an expert judgment is used, a reduction of 1,850 m (20%).
17 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Anwar, Arif A. 2022. Statistical verification of 16-day rainfall forecast for a farmers advisory service in Pakistan. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 317:108888. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.108888]
Farmers ; Advisory services ; Rain ; Weather forecasting ; Precipitation ; Information dissemination ; Decision making ; Weather data ; Models / Pakistan / Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192322000818/pdfft?md5=cdd1f03708ec8f965a5701e5d9c51971&pid=1-s2.0-S0168192322000818-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051020.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051020.pdf
(6.48 MB) (6.48 MB)
Rainfall forecast is useful for farmers to avoid expensive irrigation decisions both in rain-fed and irrigated agricultural areas. In developing countries, farmers have limited knowledge of weather forecast information sources and access to technology such as the internet and smartphones to make use of these forecasts. This paper presents a case of developing Farmers Advisory Service (FAS) in Pakistan that is based on rainfall forecast data. The analysis emphasizes on statistical verification of 16-day rainfall forecast data from a global weather forecast model (Global Forecast System). In-situ data from 15 observatories maintained by Pakistan Meteorological Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been considered for verification. Scores of various indicators are calculated for the rainfall forecast ranging from simple forecasts of dichotomous outcomes to forecasts of a continuous variable. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to understand how scores of dichotomous indicators vary by changing the threshold to define a rainfall event and forecast lead time interval. The quality of forecast varies across the stations based on the selected skill scores. The findings of verification, sensitivity analysis, and attributes of FAS provide insight into the process of developing a decision support service for the farmers based on the global weather forecast data.
18 Ijaz, M. A.; Ashraf, M.; Hamid, S.; Niaz, Y.; Waqas, M. M.; Tariq, M. A. U. R.; Saifullah, M.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Tahir, A. A.; Ikram, K.; Shafeeque, M.; Ng, A. W. M. 2022. Prediction of sediment yield in a data-scarce river catchment at the sub-basin scale using gridded precipitation datasets. Water, 14(9):1480. (Special issue: Innovate Approaches to Sustainable Water Resource Management under Population Growth, Lifestyle Improvements, and Climate Change) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w14091480]
Sediment yield ; Forecasting ; River basins ; Catchment areas ; Precipitation ; Datasets ; Hydrological modelling ; Watershed management ; Dams ; Runoff ; Sediment load ; Soil erosion ; Soil types ; Land use ; Rain ; Semiarid zones ; Spatial distribution / Pakistan / Gomal River Catchment / Kot Murtaza Barrage / Gomal Zam Dam
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051151)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/9/1480/pdf?version=1652347380
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051151.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051151.pdf
(2.15 MB) (2.15 MB)
Water-related soil erosion is a major environmental concern for catchments with barren topography in arid and semi-arid regions. With the growing interest in irrigation infrastructure development in arid regions, the current study investigates the runoff and sediment yield for the Gomal River catchment, Pakistan. Data from a precipitation gauge and gridded products (i.e., GPCC, CFSR, and TRMM) were used as input for the SWAT model to simulate runoff and sediment yield. TRMM shows a good agreement with the data of the precipitation gauge (˜1%) during the study period, i.e., 2004–2009. However, model simulations show that the GPCC data predicts runoff better than the other gridded precipitation datasets. Similarly, sediment yield predicted with the GPCC precipitation data was in good agreement with the computed one at the gauging site (only 3% overestimated) for the study period. Moreover, GPCC overestimated the sediment yield during some years despite the underestimation of flows from the catchment. The relationship of sediment yields predicted at the sub-basin level using the gauge and GPCC precipitation datasets revealed a good correlation (R2 = 0.65) and helped identify locations for precipitation gauging sites in the catchment area. The results at the sub-basin level showed that the sub-basin located downstream of the dam site contributes three (3) times more sediment yield (i.e., 4.1%) at the barrage than its corresponding area. The findings of the study show the potential usefulness of the GPCC precipitation data for the computation of sediment yield and its spatial distribution over data-scarce catchments. The computations of sediment yield at a spatial scale provide valuable information for deciding watershed management strategies at the sub-basin level.
19 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Anwar, A. A.; Hussain, Kashif. 2023. Characterization and outlook of climatic hazards in an agricultural area of Pakistan. Scientific Reports, 13:9958. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36909-4]
Climate change ; Weather hazards ; Climate prediction ; Temperature ; Precipitation ; Drought ; Rainfall ; Disaster preparedness ; Crop yield ; Crop modelling / Pakistan / Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Gomal Zam Dam Command Area
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052080)
(10.20 MB) (10.2 MB)
Many dimensions of human life and the environment are vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change and the hazards associated with it. There are several indices and metrics to quantify climate hazards that can inform preparedness and planning at different levels e.g., global, regional, national, and local. This study uses biased corrected climate projections of temperature and precipitation to compute characteristics of potential climate hazards that are pronounced in the Gomal Zam Dam Command Area (GZDCA)— an irrigated agricultural area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The results answer the question of what the future holds in the GZDCA regarding climate hazards of heatwaves, heavy precipitation, and agricultural drought. The results of heatwaves and agricultural drought present an alarming future and call for immediate actions for preparedness and adaptation. The magnitude of drought indices for the future is correlated with the crop yield response based on AquaCrop model simulations with observed climate data being used as input. This correlation provides insight into the suitability of various drought indices for agricultural drought characterization. The results elaborate on how the yield of wheat crop grown in a typical setting common in the South Asian region respond to the magnitude of drought indices. The findings of this study inform the planning process for changing climate and expected climate hazards in the GZDCA. Analyzing climate hazards for the future at the local level (administrative districts or contiguous agricultural areas) might be a more efficient approach for climate resilience due to its specificity and enhanced focus on the context.
20 Hashmi, M. Z. U. R.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Azizi, M. A. 2023. Climate. In Shah, Muhammad Azeem Ali; Lautze, Jonathan; Meelad, A. (Eds.). Afghanistan–Pakistan shared waters: state of the basins. Wallingford, UK: CABI. pp.43-61. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1079/9781800622371.0004]
Climate change ; Transboundary waters ; River basins ; Climate prediction ; Climate variability ; Trends ; Governance ; Temperature ; Precipitation / Afghanistan / Pakistan / Kabul River Basin / Kurram River Basin / Gomal River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052170)
https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/epdf/10.1079/9781800622371.0004
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052170.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052170.pdf
(7.61 MB) (7.61 MB)
Climate change is a major threat in all the shared river basins in South Asia owing to the huge populations they sustain and the complex regional dynamics. This chapter summarizes the available knowledge related to changing climate trends in three Afghan–Pakistani transboundary river basins: the Kabul, Kurram and Gomal. A key finding indicates a consistent rise in temperature over the last 30 years. By the end of the 21st century, temperatures may rise by an additional 3–4°C under RCP1 4.5 and 5–6°C under RCP 8.5, relative to 2020 levels. The potential impact of temperature rise is compounded by considerable uncertainty associated with the current and future behaviour of precipitation in the three basins. The findings in this chapter will help practitioners and policymakers visualize the nature and scope of likely climate challenges in the three basins.
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