Evaluating Landscape Configuration Impacts on Water Yield Dynamics in Heterogeneous Catchments

The configuration of landscapes plays a pivotal role in shaping water yield dynamics, influencing the spatial and temporal distribution of hydrological patterns within heterogeneous catchments. Employing the SWAT+ model, three land-use scenarios—agricultural, vegetative, and pasture—were simulated over 20 years to isolate the effects of landscape arrangement while maintaining constant land cover proportions. Spatial and temporal analyses of water yield patterns were conducted using space-time cubes and emerging hotspot analysis, while multinomial logistic regression assessed the influence of soil hydrological groups, proximity to land-use transitions, and landscape connectivity. The results suggests that despite minimal effect on the total water yield governed by landscape proportions, landscape configuration impacted the spatial distribution and intensity of water yield hotspots. The agricultural scenario demonstrated persistent and intensifying hotspots, attributed to fragmentation and proximity to land-use transitions, with hotspots covering 15% of the area. In contrast, vegetative and pasture scenarios reduced hotspot intensity by 12% and 9%, respectively, demonstrating more uniform water yield distributions. Hydrological group analysis highlighted the critical role of soil properties, with Group C areas exhibiting a 20% higher likelihood of transitioning from cold to hot spots compared to Group B. From a management perspective, this study stresses the need of integrating landscape configuration into watershed planning. Strategies such as preserving vegetative corridors and implementing buffer zones within agricultural patches can mitigate yield variability and optimize water-related ecosystem services. The research aims at developing further adaptive landscape management approaches that address hydrological challenges in such dynamic land use agricultural watershed.