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Research ArticlePeer-Reviewed Articles
Open Access

Landscape Patterns and Their Effect on Stormwater Runoff in the Alabama and Mississippi Coastal Region

Sweta Byahut, Stephanie Rogers, Joseph Nisbett, Ishan S. Anjikar and Charlene M. LeBleu
Landscape Journal, June 2026, 45 (1) 19-39; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.45.1.19
Sweta Byahut
Sweta Byahut, PhD, is an associate professor of Planning in the Department of Political Science at Auburn University’s College of Liberal Arts. Her research interests focus on sustainability and resiliency planning, development regulation, and urban land management.
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Stephanie Rogers
Stephanie Rogers, PhD, is an associate professor of Geosciences at Auburn University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics. She is a GIS expert whose research focuses on geospatial technologies, data collection and management, and analytical methodologies to solve real‐world problems across disciplines.
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Joseph Nisbett
Joeseph Nisbett, PLA, AICP, is Principal at Nisbett Design and Associate Developer at Acorn Investments, Orlando, FL. He has a Master of Community Planning and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Auburn University.
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Ishan S. Anjikar
Ishan S. Anjikar, P.E., PMP, is a flood resilience quality control manager for Odin/USACE, Roseville, CA. He has a Master of Civil Engineering (Environmental) from Auburn University.
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Charlene M. LeBleu
Charlene M. LeBleu, FCELA, FASLA, AICP, is an emeritus professor of Landscape Architecture in the College of Architecture, Design & Construction. Her primary areas of interest and research have been water quality issues, especially those related to low‐impact development design.
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  • Article
  • Figures & Data
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Article Figures & Data

Figures

  • Tables
  • Conceptual modeling of stream flow at an ungauged river basin using SWAT.
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    Figure 1

    Conceptual modeling of stream flow at an ungauged river basin using SWAT.

  • Study area showing watersheds, sub‐basins, and location of USGS gauges in the MS‐AL coastal region.
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    Figure 2

    Study area showing watersheds, sub‐basins, and location of USGS gauges in the MS‐AL coastal region.

  • Study region showing (clockwise from top left): Slope, Soil permeability, Wetlands and Impervious rate, and Natural drainage density.
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    Figure 3

    Study region showing (clockwise from top left): Slope, Soil permeability, Wetlands and Impervious rate, and Natural drainage density.

  • Illustrations of Edge Density output (top two images), Proximity Index output (middle two images), and Shannon Diversity Index output (bottom two images). Low values are on the left and high values are on right.
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    Figure 4

    Illustrations of Edge Density output (top two images), Proximity Index output (middle two images), and Shannon Diversity Index output (bottom two images). Low values are on the left and high values are on right.

Tables

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    Table 1.

    Landscape‐Level and Class‐Level Metrics Measured

    Landscape Level (one per sub-basin)TATotal Area (CA/TA)
    NPNumber of Patches
    PDPatch Density
    LPILargest Patch Index
    TETotal Edge
    EDEdge Density
    LSILandscape Shape Index
    AREA_MNPatch Area Mean
    SHAPE_MNShape Index Mean
    CONTIG_MNContiguity Index Mean
    TCATotal Core Area
    CORE_MNCore Area Mean
    PROX_MNProximity Index Mean
    ENN_MNEuclidean Nearest Neighbor Distance Mean
    CONTAGContagion
    IJIInterspersion Juxtaposition Index
    CONNECTConnectance Index
    COHESIONPatch Cohesion Index
    PRPatch Richness
    PRDPatch Richness Density
    SHDIShannon’s Diversity Index
    SHEIShannon’s Evenness Index
    AIAggregation Index
    Class Level (one per land cover type)TYPELand Cover Class Descriptor
    CATotal Class Area
    PLANDPercentage of Landscape
    NPNumber of Patches
    PDPatch Density
    LPILargest Patch Index
    TETotal Edge
    EDEdge Density
    LSILandscape Shape Index
    AREA_MNPatch Area Mean
    SHAPE_MNShape Index Mean
    CONTIG_MNContiguity Index Mean
    TCATotal Core Area
    CPLANDCore Area Percent of Land
    CORE_MNCore Area Mean
    PROX_MNProximity Index Mean
    ENN_MNEuclidean Nearest Neighbor Distance Mean
    IJIInterspersion Juxtaposition Index
    CONNECTConnectance Index
    COHESIONPatch Cohesion Index
    AIAggregation Index
    • View popup
    Table 2.

    Data Sources and Measurements

    VariableMeasurementSource and ToolsRangeMeanS.D.
    1Mean annual peak unit dischargeAverage maximum daily runoff (units in mm) at each USGS gauge station (2014–2016) by water year (natural log‐transformed)USGS gauge stations, SWAT modeling, ArcGIS6.86–8.227.340.20
    Average maximum daily runoff (units in mm) at each USGS gauge station (2014–2016), by water year (log‐transformed)USGS gauge stations, SWAT modeling, ArcGIS2.98–3.573.200.08
    2PrecipitationMean annual precipitation (units in cm)PRISM data; SWAT modeling, based on climatologically aided interpolation (CAI)125.92–171.19147.1710.10
    3SlopeAverage watershed slope (units in percentages)NHDPlus V2; NED; ArcGIS0.09–7.353.411.10
    4Soil PermeabilityAverage watershed soil permeability (units in inches per hour)NRCS; ArcGIS0.76–12.482.591.07
    5Floodplain AreaArea within the FEMA‐defined 100‐year floodplain (units in percentages)FEMA Flood Map Service Center; ArcGIS0–10025.9028.70
    6Natural Drainage DensityRatio of total stream length to basin areaNHD Flowline0–5.171.361.34
    7WetlandProportion of wetland (units in percentages)NLDC 2016 codes 90 & 95; ArcGIS0.61–10032.5022.10
    8Impervious RateProportion of developed surfaces (units in percentages)NLCD 2016 codes 21, 22, 23,24; ArcGIS0.00–95.904.819.35
    • View popup
    Table 3.

    SWAT Model Simulation

    WatershedCalibrationValidation
    R2NSEPBIASR2NSEPBIAS
    Foley 10.750.666.070.960.900.58
    Foley 20.840.96–2.090.870.920.18
    Foley 30.771.00–6.030.911.004.19
    Mobile 10.860.87–7.850.890.939.17
    Mobile 20.730.857.130.910.96–6.99
    Mobile 30.910.991.520.940.991.49
    MS 10.730.74–9.020.750.81–7.27
    MS 20.630.77–4.030.870.95–5.73
    • View popup
    Table 4.

    Landscape Measurements

    Landscape MetricsMin. ValueMax. ValueMeanS. D.
    WetlandsWet_PLAND0.20100.0023.6721.97
    Wet_ED0.00215.5438.7922.83
    Wet_SHAPE_MN1.004.081.710.33
    Wet_CONTIG_MN0.000.980.370.13
    Wet_PROX_MN0.002863.21167.99223.41
    Wet_ENN_MN0.001171.54102.2165.01
    Wet_CONNECT0.00100.0041.8726.37
    Wet_COHESION0.00100.0095.386.66
    VegetationVeg_PLAND0.0293.1433.6223.62
    Veg_ED0.23153.2350.1025.34
    Veg_SHAPE_MN1.003.691.580.23
    Veg_CONTIG_MN0.000.920.390.12
    Veg_PROX_MN0.007507.60324.43540.69
    Veg_ENN_MN0.004213.91101.59178.61
    Veg_CONNECT0.00100.0038.9324.21
    Veg_COHESION0.0099.9192.5214.27
    Barren LandsBrn_PLAND0.0012.420.501.25
    Brn_ED0.0063.162.505.93
    Brn_SHAPE_MN1.002.731.200.24
    Brn_CONTIG_MN0.000.830.220.19
    Brn_PROX_MN0.0052.010.993.26
    Brn_ENN_MN0.005400.17443.67709.80
    Brn_CONNECT0.00100.0033.4236.80
    Brn_COHESION0.0096.6548.6131.60
    DevelopmentDev_PLAND0.0140.814.625.32
    Dev_ED0.09139.7820.2613.36
    Dev_SHAPE_MN1.005.521.950.51
    Dev_CONTIG_MN0.000.960.250.08
    Dev_PROX_MN0.003929.6237.66171.80
    Dev_ENN_MN0.005061.47156.35216.39
    Dev_CONNECT0.00100.0035.2624.33
    Dev_COHESION0.0099.6986.3312.72
    • Note: PLAND measures Percentage of Landscape, ED measures Edge Density, SHAPE measures Shape Index, CONTIG measures Congruity Index, PROX measures Proximity, Mean ENN measures Euclidean Nearest‐Neighbor Distance, CONNECT measures Connectedness, and COHESION measures Cohesion.

    • View popup
    Table 5.

    Summary of Regression Outputs

    WetlandsVegetationBarren LandsDevelopment
    Dependent Variable: avg_nat_lo‐3YearRunoffAverageNaturalLog
    R Square0.37910.38310.37790.3827
    Coeff.P‐valueCoeff.P‐valueCoeff.P‐valueCoeff.P‐value
    Intercept6.14110.00006.18560.00006.16660.00006.16970.0000
    av_soil_pe‐AvgSoilPermeability(in/hr)0.00000.9952–0.00020.96870.00010.9897–0.00060.9082
    av_slope_p‐AvgSlope(%)0.00440.43650.00080.88750.00070.89140.00130.8112
    perc_flood‐FloodRiskArea(%)0.00040.28350.00050.18760.00020.54220.00050.1489
    perc_wetla‐Wetland(%)0.00040.55700.00070.10860.00090.02700.00090.0282
    impervious‐impervious(%)0.00060.30510.00070.30160.00090.15980.00020.8240
    avg_precip‐AveragePrecipitation0.00770.00000.00710.00000.00750.00000.00720.0000
    dd_ratio‐DrainageDensityRatio0.02710.00000.02710.00000.02790.00000.02700.0000
    Wet_PLAND0.00080.1009Veg_PLAND–0.00110.0147Brn_PLAND0.01350.4372Dev_PLAND0.00020.9248
    Wet_ED–0.00040.1620Veg_ED0.00040.1674Brn_ED–0.00130.7240Dev_ED–0.00050.4825
    Wet_SHAPE_MN–0.02030.3144Veg_SHAPE_MN0.03340.2526Brn_SHAPE_MN0.00400.8005Dev_SHAPE_MN0.01590.2451
    Wet_CONTIG_MN–0.01650.7666Veg_CONTIG_MN–0.08240.1716Brn_CONTIG_MN–0.06210.3690Dev_CONTIG_MN0.03700.6620
    Wet_PROX_MN0.00000.4412Veg_PROX_MN0.00000.1183Brn_PROX_MN0.00120.6429Dev_PROX_MN0.00010.0998
    Wet_ENN_MN0.00000.8682Veg_ENN_MN0.00000.7392Brn_ENN_MN0.00000.0862Dev_ENN_MN0.00000.1369
    Wet_CONNECT–0.00030.1579Veg_CONNECT–0.00040.1108Brn_CONNECT–0.00020.4585Dev_CONNECT–0.00040.0544
    Wet_COHESION0.00050.5926Veg_COHESION0.00050.2870Brn_COHESION0.00000.9961Dev_COHESION0.00030.5042
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Landscape Patterns and Their Effect on Stormwater Runoff in the Alabama and Mississippi Coastal Region
Sweta Byahut, Stephanie Rogers, Joseph Nisbett, Ishan S. Anjikar, Charlene M. LeBleu
Landscape Journal Jun 2026, 45 (1) 19-39; DOI: 10.3368/lj.45.1.19

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Landscape Patterns and Their Effect on Stormwater Runoff in the Alabama and Mississippi Coastal Region
Sweta Byahut, Stephanie Rogers, Joseph Nisbett, Ishan S. Anjikar, Charlene M. LeBleu
Landscape Journal Jun 2026, 45 (1) 19-39; DOI: 10.3368/lj.45.1.19
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Keywords

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