Malmquist, Louise
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Agricultural water management is essential yet contested in landscapes facing non-stationary hydrology under changing climate. This study explored hydrological responses to 120 years of agricultural landscape alterations, focusing on waterbodies, wetlands and water infrastructure. Utilizing the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) we simulated water balance changes combining historical land cover, climate data and water infrastructure shifts across four periods (1900-1910, 1955-1965, 2000-2010, 2010-2020) in Tidan catchment, southwestern Sweden, a temperate-boreal agricultural landscape influenced by natural and anthropogenic changes. Wetland and water network restoration had limited impact on the simulated water balance in Tidan catchment, whereas climate-driven changes significantly altered annual water yield and percolation (1900-1910) and actual evapotranspiration (1955-1965) compared to 2010-2020. Temperatures were significantly higher in 2010-2020 than historically. Precipitation remained stable. These findings suggest potential for adaptive water infrastructure for agriculture with limited water balance alteration, in response to climate and land-use challenges in mesoscale temperate catchments.
Keywords
Agricultural water management; hydrological modelling; tile drainage; water retention; water storage; catchment hydrology; anthropogenic landscape; land use change; Nordic
Published in
Hydrological Sciences Journal
2026
SLU Authors
Barron, Jennie
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
UKÄ Subject classification
Agricultural Science
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2026.2630113
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/146328