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• Parameter uncertainty varies over time scales due to land use change (LUC). • The calibrated daily runoff model is deficient for the extreme flow changes. • Model structure impacts the extreme runoff direction change for moderate LUC. Hydrological modeling has provided key insights into the mechanisms of land-use change impacts on runoff. However, the uncertainty of this impact is poorly understood. This paper examines the uncertainty originated from hydrological models' parameters and structure in simulating hydrological responses to land use change on daily, monthly and annual time scales. Two hydrological models, SWAT and HSPF, were applied to simulate the runoff response in the Xitiaoxi basin of eastern China. The effects of three land use scenarios (in 1985, 2002 and 2014) were analyzed with respect to the expansion of urban areas and reduction of cropland and forests. The changes in streamflow with multi-timescales between two models were compared at the whole basin and the sub-basin scales. The parameter uncertainty was estimated based on a sequential uncertainty analysis method (SUFI-2). The results indicate that the two models (SWAT and HSPF) could reproduce the observed daily and seasonal flows well, but they cannot accurately reconstruct the extreme flows (such as annual 7-day minimum discharge, R_7dMIN). The effect of parameter uncertainty on streamflow varies over time scales. The simulated annual and monthly runoff change values show large discrepancies but with same trends. The simulated changes for annual maximum discharge (R_1dMAX) and R_7dMIN often show different signs. The average width of the predictive interval in the relative change of different flow characteristics exceeded 100% of the average relative changes for both models. HSPF tends to present larger relative changes for the annual and monthly runoffs compared to SWAT. Moreover, the model choice could affect the direction change in R_1dMAX and R_7dMIN. However, when land use change was significant to a certain degree, both models simulated increased R_1dMAX and decreased R_7dMIN, but with different significance levels. The study suggests that the model structure represents an additional uncertainty, which should be accounted for in the land-use change impact assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyzes runoff and soil loss in relation to the rainfall regimes and land use changes in a small mountainous watershed in the Three Gorges Area (TGA) of China. Based on 10years of rainfall measurements and K-means clustering, 152 rainfall events were classified into three rainfall regimes. The mean statistical features of different rainfall regimes display a marked difference. Rainfall Regime I is events of medium amounts (31.8mm) and medium duration (1371min). Rainfall Regime II is events with high amounts (54.0mm), long duration (2548min), and an infrequent occurrence. Rainfall Regime III is events of low amount (22.2mm), short duration (494min) and high frequency. Each rainfall regime results in differing levels of runoff and erosion and Rainfall Regime I causes the greatest proportion of accumulated discharge (368.7mm) and soil loss (4283t). In the different rainfall regimes, the values of the mean runoff coefficient and the mean sediment load were ordered as follows: Rainfall Regime II>Rainfall Regime I>Rainfall Regime III. These results suggest that greater attention should be paid to Rainfall Regimes I and II because they had the most erosive effect. In the Wangjiaqiao watershed, the changes in land use primarily affected the paddy fields, where the cropland decreased significantly and the forest and orchards increased by 9.9% and 7.7%, respectively, during 1995–2004. The ANOVA shows land use changes caused significant decreasing trends in the runoff coefficients (P<0.01) and sediment loads (P<0.01). In order, the most sensitive response of runoff and erosion to land use was Rainfall Regime II>Rainfall Regime>Rainfall Regime III. Rainfall characteristics are decisive for the relative importance of different storm runoff generation mechanisms. The land use changes in the study watershed have considerably decreased runoff and soil loss. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]