Curve Numbers for Olive Orchard Catchments: Case Study in Southern Spain
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 11
Abstract
The curve number (CN) method is widely applied around the world to estimate direct runoff and the corresponding hydrograph of a rainfall event. However, there is no information on its performance in olive orchards on the catchment scale. In this work, the CN method was applied in three small catchments in southern Spain with different soil types, topography, and management. A rainfall-runoff data set of six years was used to test the usefulness of the method and the accuracy of its reference parameterization (CNs) and of the initial abstraction (). CN medians in the catchments were between 83 and 87. Classical equations based on the use of the 10th, 50th, and 90th CN percentiles for determining the antecedent moisture content (AMC) provided very good results in two of the catchments. In the third catchment, with the most arid hydrological pattern (annual rainfall ) and the most impervious areas of parental material, very poor performance was achieved. In addition, cumulative precipitation was not a good indicator of AMC. Finally, significant deviations were observed in reference CNs for sandy soils that should be treated with caution for hydrological planning. They illustrate the need for new studies evaluating the hydrological behavior of olive orchard catchments with different environmental features and management practice.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was partly supported by Projects AGL2009-12936-C03-01 (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) and AGL2012-40128-C03-01 (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness), RESEL (Spanish Ministry for Science and Environment), and FEDER funds.
References
Arnold, J. G., et al. (2012). “SWAT: Model use, calibration, and validation.” Trans. ASABE, 55(4), 1491–1508.
Baltas, E. A., Dervous, N. A., and Mimikou, M. A. (2007). “Technical note: Determination of the SCS initial abstraction ratio in experimental watershed in Greece.” Hydrol. Earth Sci., 11(6), 1825–1829.
Bingner, R. L., Theurer, F. D., and Yuan, Y. (2009). “Agricultural non-point source pollution model.”, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Borselli, L. (1991). “Analisi della affidabilità della procedura SCS Curve Number.” Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Quaderni di scienza del suolo, vol. III, Firenze, Italy.
Clemmens, A. J., Wahl, T. L., Bos, M. G., and Replogle, J. A. (2001). Water measurement with flumes and weirs, International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Cooley, K. R., and Lane, L. J. (1982). “Modified runoff curve numbers for sugarcane and pineapple fields in Hawaii.” J. Soil Water Conserv., 37, 295–298.
Cronshey, R. G. (1983). “Discussion of antecedent moisture condition probabilities.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 296–298.
EES32 (2014). [Computer software]. Madison, WI, F-Chart Solver, 〈http://www.fchart.com/ees〉 (Feb. 18, 2015).
Ferrer, M. (2003). Análisis de nuevas fuentes de datos para la estimación del parámetro número de curva: Perfiles de suelos y teledetección. Cuadernos de investigación C48, CEDEX, Madrid (in Spanish).
Food and Agriculture Organization, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT) (2012). FAOSTAT, 〈http://faostat3.fao.org/faostat-gateway/go/to/download/Q/QC/E〉 (Feb. 18, 2015).
Gómez, J. A., Vanwalleghem, T., De Hoces, A., and Taguas, E. V. (2014). “Hydrological and erosive response of a small catchment under olive cultivation in a vertic soil during a five-year period: Implications for sustainability.” Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., 188(1), 229–244.
Gray, D. D., Katz, P. G., de Monsabert, S. M., and Cogo, N. P. (1982). “Antecedent moisture condition probabilities.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 108(2), 107–114.
Haith, D. A., and Andre, B. (2000). “Curve number approach for estimating runoff from turf.” J. Environ. Qual., 29(5), 1548–1554.
Hawkins, R. H. (1993). “Asymptotic determination of runoff curve numbers from data.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 334–345.
Hawkins, R. H., Ward, T. J., Woodward, D. E., and van Mullem, J. A. (2009). Curve number hydrology: State of the practice, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Hawkins, R. H. H. (1979). “Runoff curve numbers from partial area watersheds.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 105, 375–389.
Hjelmfelt, A. T. (1991). “Investigation of curve number procedure.” J. Hydr. Eng., 725–737.
Hjelmfelt, A. T., Kramer, K. A., and Burwell, R. E. (1982). “Curve numbers as random variables.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Rainfall-Runoff Modeling, Water Resources Publications, Littleton, CO, 365–373.
King, K. W., and Balogh, J. C. (2008). “Curve numbers for golf course watersheds.” Trans. ASAE, 51(3), 987–996.
Licciardello, F., Taguas, E. V., Barbagallo, S., and Gómez, J. A. (2013). “Application of the water erosion prediction project (WEPP) in olive orchards on vertic soil with different management conditions.” Trans. ASABE, 56(3), 951–961.
Licciardello, F., and Zimbone, S. M. (2002). “Runoff and erosion modeling by AGNPS in an experimental Mediterranean watershed.” Proc., 2002 ASAE Annual Int. Meeting/CIGR 15th World Congress, American Society of Agricultural Engineering (ASAE), St. Joseph, MI.
Littleboy, M., Cogle, A. L., Smith, G. D., Yule, D. F., and Rao, K. P. C. (1996). “Soil management and production of Alfisols in the semi-arid tropics: I. Modelling the effects of soil management on runoff and erosion.” Aust. J. Soil Res., 34(1), 91–102.
Michaelidi, E., Mastrotheodoros, T., Efstratiadis, A., Koukouvinos, A., and Koutsoyiannis, D. (2013). “Flood modelling in river basins with highly variable runoff.” 5th EGU Leonardo Conf.-–Hydrofractals 2013–STAHY ‘13, European Geosciences Union, Vienna, Austria.
Mishra, S. K., and Singh, V. P. (2003). “Soil conservation service Curve Number (SCS-CN) methodology.” Water science and technology library, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.
Mockus, V. (1949). “Estimation of total (and peak rates of) surface runoff for individual storms,” Interim Survey Rep., U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Nash, J. E., and Sutcliffe, J. V. (1970). “River flow forecasting through conceptual models. Part I: A discussion of principles.” J. Hydrol., 10(3), 282–290.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (1977). National engineering handbook: Part 630—Hydrology, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (2004). National engineering handbook: Part 630, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Rawls, W. J., Shalaby, A., and McCuen, R. H. (1981). “Evaluation of methods for determining urban runoff curve numbers.” Trans. ASAE, 24(6), 1562–1566.
Ritter, A., and Muñoz-Carpena, R. (2013). “Performance evaluation of hydrological models: Statistical significance for reducing subjectivity in goodness-of-fit assessments.” J. Hydrol., 480(1), 33–45.
Ritter, J. B., and Gardner, T. W. (1991). “Runoff curve numbers for reclaimed surface mines in Pennsylvania.” J. Hydr. Eng., 656–666.
Romero, P., Castro, G., Gómez, J. A., and Fereres, E. (2007). “Curve number values for olive orchards under different soil management.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 71(6), 1758–1769.
Soil Conservation Service (SCS). (1985). National engineering handbook: Section 4: Hydrology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Soulis, K. X., Valiantzas, J. D., Dercas, N., and Londra, P. A. (2009). “Investigation of the direct runoff generation mechanism for the analysis of the SCS-CN method applicability to a partial area experimental watershed.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 13(5), 605–615.
Syed, K. H., Goodrich, D. C., Myers, D. E., and Sorooshian, S. (2003). “Spatial characteristics of thunderstorm rainfall fields and their relation to runoff.” J. Hydrol., 271(1–4), 1–21.
Taguas, E. V., Ayuso, J. L., Peña, A., Yuan, Y., and Pérez, R. (2009). “Evaluating and modelling the hydrological and erosive behaviour of an olive orchard microcatchment under no-tillage with bare soil in Spain.” Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 34(5), 738–751.
Taguas, E. V., Ayuso, J. L., Pérez, R., Giráldez, J. V., and Gómez, J. A. (2013). “Intra and inter-annual variability of runoff and sediment yield of an olive micro-catchment with soil protection by natural ground cover in southern Spain.” Geoderma, 206(1), 49–62 (in Spanish).
Taguas, E. V., and Gómez, J. A. (2015). “Vulnerability of olive orchards under the current CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) regulations on soil erosion: A study case in southern Spain.” Land Use Policy, 42(1), 683–694.
Taguas, E. V., Peña, A., Ayuso, J. L., Pérez, R., Yuan, Y., and Giráldez, J. V. (2010). “Rainfall variability and hydrological and erosive response of an olive tree microcatchment under no-tillage with a spontaneous grass cover in Spain.” Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 35, 750–760.
University of Granada. (2012). “Bases científicas para una guía técnica de drenaje específica para la red viaria andaluza Agencia de Obra Pública.” Consejería de Fomento y Vivienda, Junta de Andalucía, Granada, Spain (in Spanish).
Van Mullem, J. (1992). “Soil moisture and runoff—Another look.” Proc., Water Forum in Irrigation and Drainage, E. T. Engman, ed., ASCE, Reston, VA.
Wagener, T., Wheater, W. S., and Gupta, H. V. (2004). Rainfall-runoff modelling in gauged and ungauged catchments, Imperial College Press, Singapore.
Woodward, D. E., Hawkins, R. H., Jiang, R., Hjelmfelt, A. T., Van Mullem, J. A., and Quan, Q. D. (2003). “Runoff curve number method: Examination of the initial abstraction ratio.” Proc., World Water and Environmental Resources Congress and Related Symp., ASCE, Reston, VA, 1–10.
Yuan, Y., Nie, W., McCutcheon, S. C., and Taguas, E. V. (2014). “Initial abstraction and curve numbers for semiarid watersheds in southeastern Arizona.” Hydrol. Processes, 28(3), 774–783.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 11 • November 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 8, 2014
Accepted: Jan 28, 2015
Published online: Apr 3, 2015
Discussion open until: Sep 3, 2015
Published in print: Nov 1, 2015
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.