Water SA 47(1) 67–75 / Jan 2021 Research paper https://doi.org/10.17159/wsa/2021.v47.i1.9446 Modelling potential climate change impacts on sediment yield in the Tsitsa River catchment, South Africa Simone Norah Theron1,2 , Harold Louw Weepener1, Jacobus Johannes Le Roux3 and Christina Johanna Engelbrecht1,2 1Institute for Soil, Climate & Water, Agricultural Research Council, 600 Belvedere Street, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083, South Africa 2Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa 3Department of Geography, University of the Free State, 205 Nelson Mandela Dr, Park West, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa *Current affiliation: Institute for Soil, Climate & Water, Agricultural Research Council, Infruitec Campus, Helshoogte Road, Stellenbosch, 7500, South Africa CORRESPONDENCE The effects of climate change on water resources could be numerous and widespread, affecting water Simone N Theron quality and water security across the globe. Variations in rainfall erosivity and temporal patterns, along with changes in biomass and land use, are some of the impacts climate change is projected to have on soil erosion. EMAIL Sedimentation of watercourses and reservoirs, especially in water-stressed regions such as sub-Saharan Africa,
[email protected] may hamper climate change resilience. Modelling sediment yield under various climate change scenarios is vital to develop mitigation strategies which offset the negative effects of erosion and ensure infrastructure DATES remains sustainable under future climate change. This study investigated the relative change in sediment Received: 17 March 2020 yield with projected climate change using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for a rural catchment Accepted: 20 January 2021 in South Africa for the period 2015–2100.