Land Degradation in River Basins of the Savannas

Degradation of river basin and its influence on river flow regime has a great effect on the availability of water for agriculture, domestic and industrial activities. The Nasia basin falls within the Guinea Savanna Ecological Zone and lies in the Northern Region of Ghana. It is the drainage basin of the left bank tributary of the White Volta. Farming very close to water bodies leads to environmental degradation resulting in the drying up of streams and rivers with its attendant effect on reduced river flows. Duration or time interval has a very high influence on the vegetative cover of the study area. Land use also greatly influences the percentage of land cover with respect to vegetative cover. Strong predicted suspended sediment - river discharge relationship shows increase in discharge rate of sediment as more sediment is produced in the catchment. High level variation in suspended sediment levels was recorded for the months of water sampling. Catchment characteristics therefore have a great influence on suspended sediment production in the Nasia river basin.