Evaluating the Effect of Transpiration in Hydrologic Model Simulation through Parameter Calibration
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 5
Abstract
The effect of evapotranspiration (ET) on water redistribution in hydrological models has already been explored in many studies, but whether correcting plant transpiration (EP) in a hydrologic model can play a comparable role remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the effect of EP from the perspective of model calibration. Reference EP data were derived from the Biome Biogeochemical Cycles (Biome-BGC) model, with parameters based on long-term field investigation of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model calibration and EP-sensitive parameter analysis were conducted in the plateau’s Huangshui basin. Four modeling experiments were explored: (1) SWAT base model; (2) calibration against EP for each subbasin; (3) calibration against runoff at the gauge station; and (4) calibration against both EP and runoff. The effects of EP and runoff were analyzed. The results indicate that calibration against either EP or the runoff process alone is not adequate to produce spatially and temporally accurate water partitioning. Specifically, calibration against EP improves the runoff simulation during wet and warm seasons and the EP spatial pattern across the basin. Parameters involved in vertical water redistribution are sufficient but not necessary conditions to affect the EP process in the SWAT model. Calibration against runoff gives priority to regulating the EP in the watershed as a whole, retaining a negative spatial correlation with the reference EP. To produce a better simulation of EP and runoff, both factors are recommended in the calibration based on the SWAT model parameterization.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51861125102), the Innovative Research Groups of the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei, China (2017CFA015), and the Innovation Team in Key Field of the Ministry of Science and Technology (2018RA4014). The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their comments that helped improve the quality of the paper.
References
Abbaspour, K. C., C. A. Johnson, and M. T. van Genuchten. 2004. “Estimating uncertain flow and transport parameters using a sequential uncertainty fitting procedure.” Vadose Zone J. 3 (4): 1340–1352. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2004.1340.
Abbaspour, K. C., J. Yang, I. Maximov, R. Siber, K. Bogner, J. Mieleitner, J. Zobrist, and R. Srinivasan. 2007. “Modelling hydrology and water quality in the pre-alpine/alpine Thur watershed using SWAT.” J. Hydrol. 333 (2–4): 413–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.09.014.
Arnold, J. G., et al. 2012. “SWAT: Model use, calibration, and validation.” Trans. ASABE 55 (4): 1491–1508. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.42256.
Arnold, J. G., P. M. Allen, M. Volk, J. R. Williams, and D. D. Bosch. 2010. “Assessment of different representations of spatial variability on SWAT model performance.” Trans. ASABE 53 (5): 1433–1443. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.34913.
Arnold, J. G., R. Srinivasan, R. S. Muttiah, and J. R. Williams. 1998. “Large area hydrologic modeling and assessment part I: Model development.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 34 (1): 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1998.tb05961.x.
Biswas, T. D., D. R. Nielsen, and J. W. Biggar. 1966. “Redistribution of soil water after infiltration.” Water Resour. Res. 2 (3): 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR002i003p00513.
Burgess, S. S. O., M. A. Adams, N. C. Turner, and C. K. Ong. 1998. “The redistribution of soil water by tree root systems.” Oecologia 115 (3): 306–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050521.
Deng, C., P. Liu, S. Guo, Z. Li, and D. Wang. 2016. “Identification of hydrological model parameter variation using ensemble Kalman filter.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 20 (12): 4949–4961. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4949-2016.
Droogers, P., W. W. Immerzeel, and I. J. Lorite. 2010. “Estimating actual irrigation application by remotely sensed evapotranspiration observations.” Agric. Water Manage. 97 (9): 1351–1359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.03.017.
Duan, Q., S. Sorooshian, and V. K. Gupta. 1992. “Effective and efficient global optimization for conceptual rainfall-runoff models.” Water Resour. Res. 28 (4): 1015–1031. https://doi.org/10.1029/91WR02985.
Duan, Q., S. Sorooshian, and V. K. Gupta. 1994. “Optimal use of the SCE-UA global optimization method for calibrating watershed models.” J. Hydrol. 158 (3–4): 265–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(94)90057-4.
Eagleson, P. S. 1982. “Ecological optimality in water-limited natural soil-vegetation systems: 1. Theory and hypothesis.” Water Resour. Res. 18 (2): 325–340. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR018i002p00325.
Fischer, G., F. Nachtergaele, S. Prieler, H. T. Van Velthuizen, L. Verelst, and D. Wiberg. 2008. Global agro-ecological zones assessment for agriculture (GAEZ 2008). Laxenburg, Austria: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
Goldberg, D. E. 1989. Genetic algorithms in search, optimization and machine learning. Boston: Addison-Wesley Professional.
Granger, R. J. 2000. “Satellite-derived estimates of evapotranspiration in the Gediz basin.” J. Hydrol. 229 (1–2): 70–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(99)00200-0.
Hernandez, M., S. N. Miller, D. C. Goodrich, B. F. Goff, W. G. Kepner, C. M. Edmonds, and K. B. Jones. 2000. “Modeling runoff response to land cover and rainfall spatial variability in semi-arid watersheds.” Environ. Monit. Assess. 64 (1): 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006445811859.
Huang, G., J. Liu, M. Hou, X. Cui, and S. Xu. 2015. “Value assessment on service function of forest soil in Qinghai province.” [In Chinese.] For. Resour. Manage. 4 (1): 7–12.
Immerzeel, W. W., and P. Droogers. 2008. “Calibration of a distributed hydrological model based on satellite evapotranspiration.” J. Hydrol. 349 (3–4): 411–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.11.017.
Jasechko, S., Z. D. Sharp, J. J. Gibson, S. J. Birks, Y. Yi, and P. J. Fawcett. 2013. “Terrestrial water fluxes dominated by transpiration.” Nature 496 (7445): 347–350. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11983.
Jia, S. 2013. “Predicting mean annual runoff across Huangshui Basin, China.” In Runoff prediction in ungauged basins: Synthesis across processes, places and scales, edited by A. Viglione, G. Blöschl, H. Savenije, M. Sivapalan, and T. Wagener. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Kunnath-Poovakka, A., D. Ryu, L. J. Renzullo, and B. George. 2016. “The efficacy of calibrating hydrologic model using remotely sensed evapotranspiration and soil moisture for streamflow prediction.” J. Hydrol. 535 (Apr): 509–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.02.018.
Lambers, H., F. S. Chapin III, and T. L. Pons. 2008. Plant physiological ecology. New York: Springer.
Li, Z., P. Liu, C. Deng, S. Guo, P. He, and C. Wang. 2016. “Evaluation of estimation of distribution algorithm to calibrate computationally intensive hydrologic model.” J. Hydrol. Eng. 21 (6): 04016012. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001350.
Liang, X., D. P. Lettenmaier, E. F. Wood, and S. J. Burges. 1994. “A simple hydrologically based model of land surface water and energy fluxes for general circulation models.” J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos. 99 (7): 14415–14428. https://doi.org/10.1029/94JD00483.
Liang, X., E. F. Wood, and D. P. Lettenmaier. 1996. “Surface soil moisture parameterization of the VIC-2L model: Evaluation and modification.” Global Planet. Change 13 (1): 195–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-8181(95)00046-1.
Liou, Y. A., and S. Kar. 2014. “Evapotranspiration estimation with remote sensing and various surface energy balance algorithms—A review.” Energies 7 (5): 2821. https://doi.org/10.3390/en7052821.
Liu, P., L. Li, S. Guo, L. Xiong, W. Zhang, J. Zhang, and C. Xu. 2015. “Optimal design of seasonal flood limited water levels and its application for the Three Gorges Reservoir.” J. Hydrol. 527 (Aug): 1045–1053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.05.055.
Maxwell, R. M., and L. E. Condon. 2016. “Connections between groundwater flow and transpiration partitioning.” Science 353 (6297): 377–380. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf7891.
Ming, B., P. Liu, L. Cheng, Y. Zhou, and X. Wang. 2018. “Optimal daily generation scheduling of large hydro–photovoltaic hybrid power plants.” Energy Convers. Manage. 171 (Sep): 528–540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.06.001.
Moriasi, D. N., J. G. Arnold, M. W. Van Liew, R. L. Bingner, R. D. Harmel, and T. L. Veith. 2007. “Model evaluation guidelines for systematic quantification of accuracy in watershed simulations.” Trans. ASABE 50 (3): 885. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.23153.
Müller, J., C. A. Shoemaker, and R. Piché. 2013. “SO-MI: A surrogate model algorithm for computationally expensive nonlinear mixed-integer black-box global optimization problems.” Comput. Oper. Res. 40 (5): 1383–1400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2012.08.022.
Parajuli, P. B., P. Jayakody, and Y. Ouyang. 2018. “Evaluation of using remote sensing evapotranspiration data in SWAT.” Water Resour. Manage. 32 (3): 985–996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1850-z.
Reggiani, P., and J. Schellekens. 2003. “Modelling of hydrological responses: The representative elementary watershed approach as an alternative blueprint for watershed modelling.” Hydrol. Processes 17 (18): 3785–3789. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.5167.
Regis, R. G., and C. A. Shoemaker. 2007. “A stochastic radial basis function method for the global optimization of expensive functions.” INFORMS J. Comput. 19 (4): 497. https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.1060.0182.
Ritchie, J. T. 1998. “Soil water balance and plant water stress.” In Understanding options for agricultural production, edited by G. Y. Tsuji, G. Hoogenboom, and P. K. Thornton, 41–54. Dordrecht, Netherland: Springer.
Shen, X., K. Mao, Q. Qin, Y. Hong, and G. Zhang. 2013. “Bare surface soil moisture estimation using double-angle and dual-polarization L-Band radar data.” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 51 (7): 3931–3942. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2012.2228209.
Sivapalan, M. 2003. “Prediction in ungauged basins: A grand challenge for theoretical hydrology.” Hydrol. Processes 17 (15): 3163–3170. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.5155.
Sorooshian, S., Q. Duan, and V. K. Gupta. 1993. “Calibration of rainfall-runoff models: Application of global optimization to the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting Model.” Water Resour. Res. 29 (4): 1185–1194. https://doi.org/10.1029/92WR02617.
Suleiman, A. A., and J. T. Ritchie. 2003. “Modeling soil water redistribution during second-stage evaporation.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 67 (2): 377–386. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2003.3770.
Sutanto, S. J., B. van den Hurk, P. A. Dirmeyer, S. I. Seneviratne, T. Röckmann, K. E. Trenberth, E. M. Blyth, J. Wenninger, and G. Hoffmann. 2014. “HESS opinions “A perspective on isotope versus non-isotope approaches to determine the contribution of transpiration to total evaporation”” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 18 (8): 2815–2827. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2815-2014.
Taylor, K. E. 2001. “Summarizing multiple aspects of model performance in a single diagram.” J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos. 106 (7): 7183–7192. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900719.
Thornton, P. E., S. W. Running, and E. R. Hunt. 2005. Biome-BGC: Terrestrial ecosystem process model, Version 4.1.1. Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center.
Todd, R. W., S. R. Evett, and T. A. Howell. 2000. “The Bowen ratio-energy balance method for estimating latent heat flux of irrigated alfalfa evaluated in a semi-arid, advective environment.” Agric. For. Meteorol. 103 (4): 335–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1923(00)00139-8.
van Griensven, A., T. Meixner, S. Grunwald, T. Bishop, M. Diluzio, and R. Srinivasan. 2006. “A global sensitivity analysis tool for the parameters of multi-variable catchment models.” J. Hydrol. 324 (1–4): 10–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.09.008.
Wagener, T., and H. V. Gupta. 2005. “Model identification for hydrological forecasting under uncertainty.” Stochastic Environ. Res. Risk Assess. 19 (6): 378–387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-005-0006-5.
Wang, Q. J. 1991. “The genetic algorithm and its application to calibrating conceptual rainfall-runoff models.” Water Resour. Res. 27 (9): 2467–2471. https://doi.org/10.1029/91WR01305.
Winsemius, H. C., H. H. G. Savenije, and W. G. M. Bastiaanssen. 2008. “Constraining model parameters on remotely sensed evaporation: Justification for distribution in ungauged basins.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 12 (6): 1403–1413. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-12-1403-2008.
Wu, G. 1995. “The hydrological characteristics in Huangshui Basin.” [In Chinese.] Hydrology 6 (1): 52–55.
Yang, J., K. C. Abbaspour, P. Reichert, and H. Yang. 2008. “Comparing uncertainty analysis techniques for a SWAT application to Chaohe Basin in China.” J. Hydrol. 358 (1–2): 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.05.012.
Yu, X., C. Duffy, J. Kaye, W. Crow, G. Bhatt, and Y. Shi. 2014. “Watershed reanalysis of water and carbon cycle models at a critical zone observatory.” In Remote sensing of the terrestrial water cycle, edited by V. Lakshmi, D. Alsdorf, M. Anderson, S. Biancamaria, M. Cosh, J. Entin, G. Huffman, W. Kustas, P. van Oevelen, T. Painter, J. Parajka, M. Rodell, and C. Rüdiger. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Zhang, J., X. Wang, P. Liu, X. Lei, Z. Li, W. Gong, Q. Duan, and H. Wang. 2017. “Assessing the weighted multi-objective adaptive surrogate model optimization to derive large-scale reservoir operating rules with sensitivity analysis.” J. Hydrol. 544 (Jan): 613–627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.12.008.
Zhang, X., P. Liu, Y. Zhao, C. Deng, Z. Li, and M. Xiong. 2018. “Error correction-based forecasting of reservoir water levels: Improving accuracy over multiple lead times.” Environ. Modell. Software 104 (Jun): 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.02.017.
Zhang, Y., F. H. S. Chiew, L. Zhang, and H. Li. 2009. “Use of remotely sensed actual evapotranspiration to improve rainfall–runoff modeling in southeast Australia.” J. Hydrometeorol. 10 (4): 969–980. https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JHM1061.1.
Zhang, Y. Q., F. H. S. Chiew, L. Zhang, R. Leuning, and H. A. Cleugh. 2008. “Estimating catchment evaporation and runoff using MODIS leaf area index and the Penman-Monteith equation.” Water Resour. Res. 44 (10): W10420. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006563.
Zhao, R. J. 1992. “The Xinanjiang model applied in China.” J. Hydrol. 135 (1–4): 371–381.
Zhao, R. J., X. Liu, and V. Singh. 1995. “The Xinanjiang model.” In Computer models of watershed hydrology, edited by V. Singh, 215–232. Littleton, CO: Water Resources Publication.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 25 • Issue 5 • May 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 28, 2018
Accepted: Oct 10, 2019
Published online: Feb 20, 2020
Published in print: May 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jul 20, 2020
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.