Slope Effects on SWAT Modeling in a Mountainous Basin
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 12
Abstract
The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) is a distributed basin model that includes the option of defining spatial discretization in terms of terrain slope. Influence of terrain slope in runoff results from mountain basins is a determining factor in its simulation results; however, its use as a criterion for basin discretization and for the parameter calibration has not yet been analyzed. In this study, this influence is analyzed for calibrations using two different cases. Ten discretization cases were carried out to evaluate the relative importance of slope discretization compared with other discretization criteria. Data from 1999–2005 were used for model calibration, and those from 2006–2009, for model validation. Parameter identification and specification were performed with the combined latin hypercube and one-factor-at-a-time (LH-OAT) and the shuffled complex evolution-uncertainty analysis methods (SCE-UA), respectively. All cases resulted in very good statistical values, with the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient of 0.82–0.85, a bias of 2–10%, and the observations standard deviation ratio of 0.4–0.3. More realistic calibrated parameters were found when terrain slope variation was not included in the spatial discretization criteria. The inclusion of slope did not significantly improve simulations results when a good set of parameters was used, but it did enhance the calibration when a reduced number of subbasins was used.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Arnold, J. G., and Fohrer, N. (2005). “SWAT2000: Current capabilities and research opportunities in applied watershed modeling.” Hydrol. Process., 19(3), 563–572.
Balascio, C. C., Palmeri, D. J., and Gao, H. (1998). “Use of a genetic algorithm and multi-objective programming for calibration of a hydrologic model.” Trans. ASAE, 41(3), 615–619.
Bekele, E. G., and Nicklow, J. W. (2007). “Multi–objective automatic calibration of SWAT using NSGA–II.” J. Hydrol., 341(3–4), 165–176.
Bonuma, N. B., Rossi, C. G., and Reichert, J. M. (2011). “Hydrologic evaluation for a small watershed in southern Brazil with the soil and water assessment tool.” 14th Int. Water Resources Association (IWRA) World Water Congress, Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Buytaert, W., et al. (2006). “Human impact on the hydrology of the Andean páramos.” Earth Sci. Rev., 79(1–2), 53–72.
CARE; World Wide Fund for Nature; Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit; International Institute for Environment, and Development; Centro Ecumenico de Acción y Promoción Social. (2007). Proyecto Compensación Equitativa por Servicios Ambientales Hidrológicos (CESAH). Cajamarca: The network (in Spanish).
Duan, Q., Gupta, V. K., and Sorooshian, S. (1993). “A shuffled complex evolution approach for effective and efficient optimization.” J. Optim. Theory Appl., 76(3), 501–521.
Duan, Q., Sorooshian, S., and Gupta, V. K. (1992). “Effective and efficient global optimization for conceptual rainfall-runoff models.” Water Resour. Res., 28(4), 1015–1031.
Duan, Q., Sorooshian, S., and Gupta, V. K. (1994). “Optimal use of the SCE-UA global optimization method for calibrating watershed models.” J. Hydrol., 158(3–4), 265–2842.
Eckhardt, J., and Arnold, J. (2001). “Automatic calibration of a distributed catchment model.” J. Hydrol., 251(1–2), 103–109.
Fadil, A., Rhinane, H., Kaoukaya, A., Kharchaf, Y., and Bachir, O. A. (2011). “Hydrologic modeling of the Bouregreg Watershed (Morocco) using GIS and SWAT model.” J. Geogr. Info. Syst. 3(4), 279–289.
Francos, A., Elorza, F. J., Bouraoui, F., Bidoglio, G., and Galbiati, L. (2003). “Sensitivity analysis of distributed environmental simulation models: Understanding the model behaviour in hydrological studies at the catchment scale.” Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf., 79(2), 205–218.
Gassman, P. W., Reyes, M., Green, C. H., and Arnold, J. G. (2007). “The soil and water assessment tool: Historical development, applications, and future directions.” Transactions ASABE, 50(4), 1211–1250.
Green, C. H., and van Griensven, A. (2008). “Autocalibration in hydrologic modeling: Using SWAT2005 in small-scale watersheds.” Environ. Modell. Softw., 23(4), 422–434.
Gong, Y., Shen, Z., Liu, R., Wang, X., and Chen, T. (2010). “Effect of watershed subdivision on SWAT modeling with consideration of parameter uncertainty.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 1070–1074.
Gupta, H. V., Sorooshian, S., and Yapo, P. O. (1999). “Status of automatic calibration for hydrologic models: Comparison with multilevel expert calibration.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 135–143.
Haan, C. T., Storm, D. E., Al-Issa, T., Prabhu, S., Sabbagh, G. J., and Edwards, D. R. (1998). “Effect of parameter distributions on uncertainty analysis of hydrologic models.” Trans. ASAE, 41(1), 65–70.
Harmel, D., and Smith, P. (2007). “Consideration of measurement uncertainty in the evaluation of goodness-of-fit in hydrologic and water quality modeling” J. Hydrol., 337(3–4), 326–336.
Haverkampt, S., Srinivasan, R., Frede, H. G., and Santhi, C. (2002). “Subwatershed spatial analysis tool: Discretization of a distributed hydrologic model by statistical criteria.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 38(6), 1723–1733.
Holvoet, K., van Griensven, A., Seuntjens, P., and Vanrolleghem, P. A. (2005). “Sensitivity analysis for hydrology and pesticide supply towards the river in SWAT.” J. Phys. Chem. Earth, 30(8–10), 518–526.
Hörmann, G., Köplin, N., Cai, Q., and Fohrer, N. (2009). “Using a simple model as a tool to parameterise the SWAT model of the Xiangxi River in China.” Quat. Int., 208(1–2), 116–120.
Huang, Z., Xue, B., and Pang, Y. (2009). “Simulation on stream flow and nutrient loadings in Gucheng Lake, Lower Yangtze River Basin, based on SWAT model.” Quat. Int., 208(1–2), 109–115.
Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales del Ministerio de Agricultura (INRENA): Proyecto Especial Jequetepeque- Zaña (PEJEZA). (2005). “Plan de ordenamiento, manejo ambiental y Desarrollo Social en la Cuenca media y Alta del Rió Jequetepeque para la protección del embalse Gallito Ciego.” Cajamarca, Perú.
Merz, R., Parajka, J., and Blöschl, G. (2009). “Scale effects in conceptual hydrological modeling.” Water Resour. Res., 45(9), W09405.
Migliaccio, K. W., and Chaubey, I. (2008). “Spatial distributions and stochastic parameter influences on SWAT flow and sediment predictions.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 258–269.
Molina, A., Govers, G., Vanacker, V., Poesen, J., Zeelmaekers, E., and Cisneros, F. (2007). “Runoff generation in a degraded Andean ecosystem: Interaction of vegetation cover and land use.” Catena, 71(2), 357–370.
Moriasi, D. N., Arnold, J. G., Vanliew, M. W., Bingner, L. G., Harmel, R. D., and Veith, T. L. (2007). “Model evaluation guidelines for a systematic quantification of accuracy in watershed simulations.” Trans. ASABE, 50(3), 885–900.
Muleta, M. K., and Nicklow, J. W. (2005). “Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis coupled with automatic calibration for a distributed watershed model.” J. Hydrol., 306(1–4), 127–145.
Muleta, M. K., Nicklow, J. K., and Bekele, E. G. (2007). “Sensitivity of a distributed watershed simulation model to spatial scale.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 163–172.
Neitsch, S. L., Arnold, J., Kiniry, J. R., Srinivasan, R., and Williams, J. R. (2001a). “SWAT input/output file documentation Version 2005.” 〈http://swatmodel.tamu.edu/media/1291/SWAT2005io.pdf〉 (Sep. 2004).
Neitsch, S. L., Arnold, J., Kiniry, J. R., Srinivasan, R., and Williams, J. R. (2001b). “SWAT theoretical documentation Version 2005.” 〈http://swatmodel.tamu.edu/media/1292/SWAT2005theory.pdf〉 (Jan. 2005).
Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrologia del Perú (SENAMHI). (2008). “Pronosticos diarios a nivel nacional.” 〈http://www 785.senamhi.gob.pe〉 (Apr. 15, 2008).
Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrologia del Perú (SENAMHI). (2009). “Pronosticos diarios a nivel nacional.” 〈http://www 785.senamhi.gob.pe〉 (Feb. 20, 2009).
Setegn, S. G. (2010). “Modeling hydrological and hydrodynamic processes in Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia.” Ph.D. thesis, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden.
Smedema, L. K., and Rycroft, D. W. (1983). Land drainage-planning and design of agricultural drainage systems, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Engineering Division. (1986). “Urban hydrology for small watersheds.” Technical Release 55, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Sulis, M., Marrocu, M., and Paniconi, C. (2009). “Conjunctive use of a hydrological model and a multicriteria decision support system for a case study on the Caia Catchment, Portugal.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 141–152.
Van Griensven, A., Francos, A., and Bauwens, W. (2002). “Sensitivity analysis and auto-calibration of an integral dynamic model for river water quality.” Water Sci. Technol., 45(5), 321–328.
Van Griensven, A., Meixner, T., Grunwald, S., Bishop, T., Diluzio, M., and Srinivasan, R. (2006). “A global sensitivity analysis tool for the parameters of multi-variable catchment models.” J. Hydrol., 324(1–4), 10–23.
Vazquez-Amabile, G., and Engel, B. (2008). “Fitting of time series models to forecast streamflow and groundwater using simulated data from SWAT.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 554–562.
Yacoub, C., and Pérez-Foguet, A. (2009). “Assessment of terrain slope influence in SWAT modeling of Andean watersheds” European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria.
Yacoub, C., Pérez-Foguet, A., and Miralles, N. (2012). “Trace metal content of sediments close to mine sites in the Andean region.” Sci. World J., 2012, 732519.
Yang, J., Reichert, P., Abbaspour, K. C., Xia, J., and Yang, H. (2008). “Comparing uncertainty analyisis techniques for a SWAT application to the Chaohe Basin in China.” J. Hydrol., 358(1–2), 1–23.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 12 • December 2013
Pages: 1663 - 1673
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 6, 2012
Accepted: Nov 29, 2012
Published online: Dec 1, 2012
Discussion open until: May 1, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.