EFFECTS OF LAND USE LAND COVER AND CLIMATE CHANGES TO WATER YIELD IN YOLABENUE RIVER BASIN ADAMAWA STATE

Modelling the impacts of climate change (CC) and land use land cover changes (LULCC) to water yield (WY) is crucial to overcome the effects of climate change on hydrological processes. Hence, this study evaluates the effects of CC and LULCC on WY in Yola Benue River Basin Adamawa State Nigeria. LULCC of 1992, 2002, 2012 and 2022 were analysed through maximum likelihood supervised classification. The impacts of LULCC and CC on water yield, evapotranspiration and precipitation were analysed using the soil water assessmenttool (SWAT) model. The effects of the changes indicate an increase in WY and precipitation and a decrease in evapotranspiration, which is due to changes in the curve number (CN) values. The study demonstrates the variation in the hydrological components because of alteration in LULC that occurred in the river basin. The results demonstrate the speedy expansion in agriculture, built-up, and the decline in the forest is perhaps the main reason for the distinctionin the overall hydrological components. Simulation with the SWAT using land use land coverchanges and climate change indicates a reduction in evapotranspiration and an increase in WY and precipitation in the river basin. These outcomes are needed for the planning and management of water resources for enhancement of sustainability.