A comprehensive calibration and validation of SWAT-T using local datasets, evapotranspiration and streamflow in a tropical montane cloud forest area with permeable substrate in central Veracruz, Mexico


Por: Lopez-Ramirez, Sergio Miguel, Mayer, Alex, Saenz, Leonardo, Muñoz-Villers L.E., Holwerda, Friso, Looker, Nathaniel, Schurz, Christoph, Berry, Z. Carter, Manson, Robert, Asbjornsen, Heidi, Kolka, Randall, Geissert, Daniel, Lezama, Carlos

Publicada: 1 dic 2021
Categoría: Water science and technology

Resumen:
Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) are threatened ecosystems despite their capacity to maintain high dry-season baseflow. A number of conservation policies, including payments for hydrological services, have been implemented to protect these forests. However, since most of the modeling tools used to assess the impacts of these policies were developed for temperate zones, more work is needed to understand and improve the applicability of popular models in tropical contexts. This study uses local evapotranspiration and streamflow datasets to calibrate and validate an improved version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model for the Tropics (SWAT-T). Vegetation growth and canopy water storage capacity were calibrated using field data. Three methods provided by SWAT-T to calculate potential evapotranspiration (PET) were compared: Penman-Monteith (SWAT-T-PM), Hargreaves (SWAT-T-HA), and Priestly-Taylor (SWAT-T-PT). Sensitivity analysis and calibration of daily streamflow were conducted at the catchment scale (34 km(2)). Furthermore, the calibrated models were validated at three sites with evapotranspiration data, and at four distinct micro-catchments (0.137-0.446 km(2)) with gauged streamflow data. Overall, SWAT-T satisfactorily simulated streamflow during the calibration period producing acceptable goodness of fit indices. However, the model incorrectly predicted the dominance of lateral flow instead of the deep groundwater flow observed from isotope-based studies. SWAT-T-HA performed better than SWAT-T-PM and SWAT-T-PT, but all models underestimated the influence of rainfall interception losses since evaporation is limited by daily PET in forests. Finally, SWAT-T largely over- and underestimated mean annual daily low flow in pastures and forests, respectively. Taken together, these results indicate that improvements in the parametrization of rainfall interception and deep subsurface flow dynamics in SWAT-T are required to improve applicability of this modeling tool in tropical montane areas underlain by permeable substrates.

Filiaciones:
Michigan Technological University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 870 Dow Environmental Sciences, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, United States
University of Texas at El Paso, Civil Engineering, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, United States
Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico
University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water and Climate, St. Paul, MN 55108, United States
Institute of Water Management, Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Science Vienna, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, Wien, 1180, Austria
Chapman University, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Orange, CA 92866-1005, United States
Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, Xalapa, Veracruz 91073, Mexico
University of New Hampshire, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Durham, NH 03824, United States
USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Grand Rapids, MN 55744, United States
Michigan Technol Univ, Civil & Environm Engn, 870 Dow Environm Sci,1400 Townsend Dr, Houghton, MI 49931 USA
Univ Texas El Paso, Civil Engn, 500 West Univ Ave, El Paso, TX 79968 USA
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Ctr Ciencias Atmosfera, Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico
Univ Minnesota, Dept Soil Water & Climate, St Paul, MN 55108 USA
Univ Nat Resources & Life Sci Vienna, Inst Water Management Hydrol & Hydraul Engn, Gregor Mendel Str 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria
Chapman Univ, Schmid Coll Sci & Technol, Orange, CA 92866 USA
Inst Ecol AC, Carretera Antigua Coatepec 351, Xalapa 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
Univ New Hampshire, Dept Nat Resources & Environm, Durham, NH 03824 USA
US Forest Serv, USDA, Northern Res Stn, Grand Rapids, MN 55744 USA
ISSN: 00221694





JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
Editorial
Elsevier Sci B.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands, PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, Países Bajos
Tipo de documento: Article
Volumen: 603 Número:
Páginas:
WOS Id: 000706313000004

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