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Assessment of water fluxes in semi-arid environments Serowe case study (Botswana) Nanyonjo Cate Zziwa M arch, 2003 Assessment of water fluxes in semi-arid environments (Serowe case study (Botswana) by Nanyonjo Cate Zziwa Thesis submitted to the International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (Groundwater Resources and Environmental Management) Degree Assessment Board Chairman: Prof. Dr.A.M.J.Meijerink (ITC) Supervisor: Dr. Maciek Lubczynski (ITC) Member: Dr. Ambro Gieske (ITC) External Examiner: Drs. J.W.A. Foppen (IHE) INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR GEO-INFORMATION SCIENCE AND EARTH OBSERVATION ENSCHEDE, THE NETHERLANDS Disclaimer This document describes work undertaken as part of a programme of study at the International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation. All views and opinions expressed therein remain the sole responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of the institute I Abstract Semi arid areas are characterised by low and erratic rainfall. Surface water is available only during and shortly after the rainy season; therefore groundwater is the main supply of water. To address, the challenges of sustainable management, assessment of water fluxes becomes essential. In this study, various methodologies for computing water fluxes are presented for Botswana, a case study of Se- rowe. Transpiration of Savannah vegetation species (Terminalia Sericea, Acacia leuderitzii, Burkea Afri- cana, Acacia erioloba, Ochna pulchra, Dichrostachys cinerea Acacia fleckii, Boscia albitrunca and Lonchocarpus nelsii were evaluated by sapflow measurements using Granier’s Thermal Dissipation Probe method. Stem diameters were the best predictor of sap wood area in all tree species having cor- relations over 80% (78 – 93%) The crown diameter also explained (75 – 90%) but showed as a poor indicator of sapwood area in Dichrostachys cinerea. From the statistical analysis, sap velocity was proved to be independent of crown area and stem area. Daily average sap velocities varied widely among species: Terminalia Sericea (1.68 cm hr-1), Acacia leuderitzii (0.61 cm hr-1), Burkea africana (1.326 cm hr-1), Acacia erioloba (1.02 cm hr-1), Ochna pulchra (1.41 cm hr-1), Dichrostachys cinerea (0.85 cm hr-1) Acacia fleckii (2.50 cm hr-1) Boscia albitrunca (3.84 cm hr-1) and Lonchocarpus nelsii (3.35 cm hr-1). Regarding temporal variability of tree transpiration, high normalised sapflow rates dur- ing summer were observed for Lonchocarpus nelsii, Ochna pulchra, Acacia fleckii, Burkea africana and Dichrostachys cinerea. However, during winter periods when there was a water deficit, Boscia albitrunca, Terminalia sericea and Acacia erioloba showed considerable amounts of normalised sap- flow. To monitor temporal variability of Actual Evapotranspiration, at GS05 ADAS site, two energy balance methods are presented. The temperature profile method indicated an average of 0.89 mm/day and the Bowen ratio Energy balance method 0.29 mm/day. Computation of aerodynamic resistance provided an average daily value of 48.2 sm-1. Daily average surface resistance by applying ETa from temperature profile method was 1817 s m-1, and by applying sapflow method it was 4730 sm-1. Daily actual evapotranspiration estimated by Penman-Monteith showed values ranging from 0.08mm/day to 0.64 mm/day. Sensitivity analysis of aerodynamic resistance and surface resistance indicated that the use of a fixed aerodynamic resistance as temporal average value does not influence much, ETa (P-M) while the same ETa appeared to be sensitive to temporal variability of aerodynamic resistance. A lumped parameter hydrologic model, EARTH was used to model fluxes in the unsaturated zone Fi- nally the fluxes evaluated with various methods were compared. II Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the Netherlands Government for awarding me a scholarship without which I would not have realized my dream to further my studies. I am grate- ful to my employer, Rural Water and Sanitation Eastern Uganda Project (RUWASA) who through the Project Coordinator Mr. Disan Ssozi complemented my efforts by supporting me and helping me fulfil my dreams. Thanks are also extended to Dr. Erasmus Barifaijo, Head of Department for Geology, Makerere University for his willingness to recommend me for this study. Many thanks go to all staff members of WREM, for the support and guidance throughout the modules. I am deeply indebted to my first supervisor Dr. Maciek Lubczynski, for his patience, guidance, en- couragement and critical comments that made this research a success right from fieldwork to comple- tion of this work. To my second supervisor Dr Ambro Gieske, I am very grateful for your valuable inputs especially in the Evapotranspiration chapter. I am also grateful to my classmates in WREM with whom we shared moments of joy as well as tense periods. To the Ugandan colleagues in En- schede, thank you for making me feel at home. I thank the Department of Geological Survey of Botswana for providing me with data for my research and facilitating my fieldwork. Special thanks go to Mr. Obolokile Obakeng for his advice guidance throughout this study and quick response in providing me with extra data even after fieldwork. To Mr Ramatsoko, thank you for putting up a great camp for us. I cannot forget all the field assistants and technicians who made data collection possible. To all my colleagues at the camp Esther, Walter, Er- mius Ola seven!!!! My heartfelt gratitude goes to my husband Darius who sacrificed his interests and wished for my suc- cess. Darius, those special and lovely words especially through the hardest times gave me a lot of en- couragement and inspiration. To my son Danny, I always missed you; I hope you understand that leav- ing you at such a tender age would be beneficial to all of us. I am forever grateful to my beloved parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. Zziwa who taught me the principles of life and educated me this far. They have been my source of strength, mentors always supportive and urging me on. I thank you very much for taking care of my baby Danny while I was away. To my sis- ters and brothers thank you for the affection. To my friends, Sanyu, Rhoda, Elizabeth, Celia, Damalie, Zuwena, Stella, Harriet, thank you for the endless e-mails and support. To Silvie, the hearty calls that always made my days great cannot be forgotten, thank you very much for the advice and continuous encouragement. Finally all praises to the almighty GOD, the father, without whom this work would have remained a dream!! III T o m y husband D arius and our son D anny Y ou are special to m e… .. IV List of acronyms ADAS Automatic Data Acquisition System ANOVA Analysis of Variance ASCII American Standard code for Information Exchange BH Borehole BREB Bowen Ratio Energy Balance method Cum. prob cumulative probability EARTH Extended model for Aquifer Recharge and soil moisture Transport through the un- saturated Hardrock. ET Evapotranspiration ETa Actual evapotranspiration ETo Reference crop evapotranspiration FAO Food and Agricultural organisation GIS Geographical Information System GPS Global Positioning System ILWIS Integrated Land and Water Information system ITC International Institute for Geo-information and Earth observation Science LAI Leaf Area Index Landsat TM Land Satellite Thematic Mapper m.a.s.l meters above sea level NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation index PET Potential Evapotranspiration P-M Penman-Monteith SEBAL Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land SE Standard Error SGC Swedish Geological Company TDP Thermal Dissipation Probe UTM Universal Transverse Mercator WCS Well field Consulting Services V Table of contents Disclaimer............................................................................................................................ i Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................iii List of acronyms .............................................................................................................. v Table of contents ............................................................................................................ vi List of Figures.................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables..................................................................................................................... x List of Plates ...................................................................................................................... x List of Appendices......................................................................................................... xi 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 1.1. Background.................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Research Problem and importance of research.............................................................. 1 1.3. Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.4. Research Questions.......................................................................................................