Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the Mediterranean
Understanding the soil and hydrologic processes in agricultural watersheds are vital for reliable assessments of water quantity and quality to support integrated river basin management. However, deriving hydrology-relevant information is complicated in flat data-scarce agricultural watersheds due to...
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3479 |
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| author | Cenk Donmez Omer Sari Suha Berberoglu Ahmet Cilek Onur Satir Martin Volk |
| author_facet | Cenk Donmez Omer Sari Suha Berberoglu Ahmet Cilek Onur Satir Martin Volk |
| author_sort | Cenk Donmez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the soil and hydrologic processes in agricultural watersheds are vital for reliable assessments of water quantity and quality to support integrated river basin management. However, deriving hydrology-relevant information is complicated in flat data-scarce agricultural watersheds due to constraints in watershed delineation, flat topography, poor natural drainage, and irregular irrigation schedules by human intervention. The study aimed to improve the applicability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to simulate daily flow and NO<sub>3</sub> concentrations in a flat data-scarce agricultural watershed in the Lower Seyhan Plain (LSP) in Turkey. Refined digitized stream networks, discharge data derived from fully equipped gauging stations, and satellite data (Landsat 7 ETM+, Aster GDEM, etc.) had to be integrated into the modeling process to improve the simulation quality. The model was calibrated using a 2-year (2011–2012) dataset of streamflow and NO<sub>3</sub> using the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI-2) approach and validated from 2013 to 2018. Daily water yields were predicted with a reasonable simulation accuracy (E values ranging from 0.53 to 0.82 and percent bias (PBIAS) from 0 to +4.1). The results proved that integrating redefined stream networks to SWAT within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment increases the simulation capability of flow and nitrate dynamics efficiently. Automated delineation of these networks and sub-basins at low topographic transitions limits the SWAT accuracy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:09:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-069ffc7972104c269c5909cbaa4dfb59 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:09:24Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-069ffc7972104c269c5909cbaa4dfb592023-11-21T00:17:40ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-12-011212347910.3390/w12123479Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the MediterraneanCenk Donmez0Omer Sari1Suha Berberoglu2Ahmet Cilek3Onur Satir4Martin Volk5Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Cukurova, 01330 Adana, TurkeyRemote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Cukurova, 01330 Adana, TurkeyRemote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Cukurova, 01330 Adana, TurkeyRemote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Cukurova, 01330 Adana, TurkeyDepartment of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Design, University of Yuzuncu Yil, 65090 Van, TurkeyDepartment of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstr.15, D-04318 Leipzig, GermanyUnderstanding the soil and hydrologic processes in agricultural watersheds are vital for reliable assessments of water quantity and quality to support integrated river basin management. However, deriving hydrology-relevant information is complicated in flat data-scarce agricultural watersheds due to constraints in watershed delineation, flat topography, poor natural drainage, and irregular irrigation schedules by human intervention. The study aimed to improve the applicability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to simulate daily flow and NO<sub>3</sub> concentrations in a flat data-scarce agricultural watershed in the Lower Seyhan Plain (LSP) in Turkey. Refined digitized stream networks, discharge data derived from fully equipped gauging stations, and satellite data (Landsat 7 ETM+, Aster GDEM, etc.) had to be integrated into the modeling process to improve the simulation quality. The model was calibrated using a 2-year (2011–2012) dataset of streamflow and NO<sub>3</sub> using the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI-2) approach and validated from 2013 to 2018. Daily water yields were predicted with a reasonable simulation accuracy (E values ranging from 0.53 to 0.82 and percent bias (PBIAS) from 0 to +4.1). The results proved that integrating redefined stream networks to SWAT within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment increases the simulation capability of flow and nitrate dynamics efficiently. Automated delineation of these networks and sub-basins at low topographic transitions limits the SWAT accuracy.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3479SWATSUFI-2daily flowNO<sub>3</sub>Lower Seyhan Plaindata-scarce regions |
| spellingShingle | Cenk Donmez Omer Sari Suha Berberoglu Ahmet Cilek Onur Satir Martin Volk Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the Mediterranean Water SWAT SUFI-2 daily flow NO<sub>3</sub> Lower Seyhan Plain data-scarce regions |
| title | Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the Mediterranean |
| title_full | Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the Mediterranean |
| title_fullStr | Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the Mediterranean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the Mediterranean |
| title_short | Improving the Applicability of the SWAT Model to Simulate Flow and Nitrate Dynamics in a Flat Data-Scarce Agricultural Region in the Mediterranean |
| title_sort | improving the applicability of the swat model to simulate flow and nitrate dynamics in a flat data scarce agricultural region in the mediterranean |
| topic | SWAT SUFI-2 daily flow NO<sub>3</sub> Lower Seyhan Plain data-scarce regions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3479 |
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