Improved Model Parameter Transferability Method for Hydrological Simulation with SWAT in Ungauged Mountainous Catchments

Meng, Fanhao; Sa, Chula; Li, Shipeng; Luo, Min; Liu, Jiao; Tian, Lin

doi:10.3390/su12093551

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…To address the challenge of non-availability of observed data at local level for water resources planning and utilization in the river basin, hydrologic simulation method has been widely used in recent years [19][20][21][22][23]. Simulation models provide excellent platforms for evaluating various options for water resources as well as environmental planning [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of SWAT in Hydrological Simulation of Complex Mountainous River Basin (Part I: Model Development)

Marahatta

Devkota

Aryal

2021

Water

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The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) hydrological model has been used extensively by the scientific community to simulate varying hydro-climatic conditions and geo-physical environment. This study used SWAT to characterize the rainfall-runoff behaviour of a complex mountainous basin, the Budhigandaki River Basin (BRB), in central Nepal. The specific objectives of this research were to: (i) assess the applicability of SWAT model in data scarce and complex mountainous river basin using well-established performance indicators; and (ii) generate spatially distributed flows and evaluate the water balance at the sub-basin level. The BRB was discretised into 16 sub-basins and 344 hydrological response units (HRUs) and calibration and validation was carried out at Arughat using daily flow data of 20 years and 10 years, respectively. Moreover, this study carried out additional validation at three supplementary points at which the study team collected primary river flow data. Four statistical indicators: Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), percent bias (PBIAS), ratio of the root mean square error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR) and Kling Gupta efficiency (KGE) have been used for the model evaluation. Calibration and validation results rank the model performance as “very good”. This study estimated the mean annual flow at BRB outlet to be 240 m3/s and annual precipitation 1528 mm with distinct seasonal variability. Snowmelt contributes 20% of the total flow at the basin outlet during the pre-monsoon and 8% in the post monsoon period. The 90%, 40% and 10% exceedance flows were calculated to be 39, 126 and 453 m3/s respectively. This study provides additional evidence to the SWAT diaspora of its applicability to simulate the rainfall-runoff characteristics of such a complex mountainous catchment. The findings will be useful for hydrologists and planners in general to utilize the available water rationally in the times to come and particularly, to harness the hydroelectric potential of the basin.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of SWAT in Hydrological Simulation of Complex Mountainous River Basin (Part I: Model Development)

Marahatta

Devkota

Aryal

2021

Water

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“…By entering different spatial and attribute data, such as weather data, the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), soil, and LULC data, this model can simulate a watershed's hydrological cycle and nutrient loads [33]. It is possible to create the SWAT model without data using parameter transplanting factor transfer [34,35]. The model has been used in numerous studies around the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Discharge Loads Assessment Using the SWAT Model: A Case Study of the Shatt Al-Arab River Basin

Allafta

Opp

2023

Applied Sciences

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Understanding the link between land use/land cover (LULC) patterns and water quality can establish guidelines for non-point source pollution management and sustainable development. The transboundary Shatt Al-Arab river basin (Iraq-Iran) suffers from nutrient pollution problems. This study aimed to estimate flow volume, nitrogen, and phosphorus pollution in this basin and how such pollution relates to LULC and flow volume using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The data used in the SWAT model were the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), slope, parent materials of soil, LULC, and weather data (i.e., precipitation, relative humidity, temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed). The results showed that from 2004 to 2021, the annual Total Nitrogen (TN) and Total Phosphorus (TP) outputs were 618 and 140 kg km−2, respectively. The TN discharge load ranged from 27 to 6500 kg km−2 yr−1, while the TP discharge load ranged from 1 to 1600 kg km−2 yr−1. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) revealed that cropland and urban cover ratios were positively correlated with the annual TN and TP discharge loads. On the contrary, shrubland and bare land ratios were negatively correlated with the annual TN and TP discharge loads. Results showed that flow volume is positively correlated with precipitation. Both annual TN and TP discharge loads exhibited a positive correlation with flow volume and a negative correlation with subbasin area. The highest annual TN and TP discharge loads were in the middle parts of the basin, where the cultivated land and construction land are concentrated and the flow volume is high. Thus, findings suggest that the basin is sensitive to shifts in flow volume associated with global climate change and to shifts in LULC change. No study for nutrient discharge load assessment for the entire Shatt Al-Arab river basin has been performed before. Hence, the novel contribution of this study will guide the hydrologists and water resource planners in the basin to establish effective water policies, climate change mitigation strategies, and environmental change adaptation strategies.

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“…It has a wide range of applications and can be used for NPS pollution analysis [24,25]. When there is a lack of data, the SWAT model can be established by applying model parameter transplantation parameter transfer [26,27]. Zeiger et al [28] used SWAT to simulate land use/cover impacts on streamflow, sediment, and nutrient loading in a karst catchment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relating Land Use/Cover and Landscape Pattern to the Water Quality under the Simulation of SWAT in a Reservoir Basin, Southeast China

Lei

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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Understanding the relationship between land use/cover pattern and water quality could provide guidelines for non-point source pollution and facilitate sustainable development. The previous studies mainly relate the land use/cover of the entire region to the water quality at the monitoring sites, but the water quality at monitoring sites did not totally reflect the water environment of the entire basin. In this study, the land use/cover was monitored on Google Earth Engine in Tang-Pu Reservoir basin, China. In order to reflect the water quality of the whole study area, the spatial distribution of the determinants for water quality there, i.e., the total nitrogen and total phosphorus (TN&TP), were simulated by the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The redundancy analysis explored the correlations between land use/cover pattern and simulated TN&TP. The results showed that: (1) From 2009 to 2019, forest was the dominant land cover, and there was little land use/cover change. The landscape fragmentation increased, and the connectivity decreased. (2) About 25% TP concentrations and nearly all the TN concentrations at the monitoring points did not reach drinking water standard, which means nitrogen and phosphorus pollution were the most serious problems. The highest output per unit TN&TP simulated by SWAT were 44.50 kg/hm2 and 9.51 kg/hm2 and occurred in areas with highly fragile landscape patterns. (3) TN&TP correlated positively with cultivated and construction land but negatively with forest. The correlation between forest and TN&TP summited at 500–700-m buffer and construction land at 100-m buffer. As the buffer size increased, the correlation between the cultivated land, and the TN weakened, while the correlation with the TP increased. TN&TP correlated positively with the Shannon’s Diversity Index and negatively with the Contagion Index. This study provides a new perspective for exporting the impact of land use/cover pattern on water quality.

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Improved Model Parameter Transferability Method for Hydrological Simulation with SWAT in Ungauged Mountainous Catchments

Cited by 8 publications

References 51 publications

Application of SWAT in Hydrological Simulation of Complex Mountainous River Basin (Part I: Model Development)

Application of SWAT in Hydrological Simulation of Complex Mountainous River Basin (Part I: Model Development)

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Discharge Loads Assessment Using the SWAT Model: A Case Study of the Shatt Al-Arab River Basin

Relating Land Use/Cover and Landscape Pattern to the Water Quality under the Simulation of SWAT in a Reservoir Basin, Southeast China

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