Hydrological modeling in a rural catchment in Germany

Cristiano Andre Pott, Nicola Fohrer

Abstract


The use of ecohydrological modeling in studies of water balance, sediment and nutrient load is increasing worldwide. Important in modeling is a good calibration and validation of the model in order to use it as a tool to study land use change. The aim of this study is to calibrate and validate the model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and to estimate the main components of river discharge in a rural lowland catchment. 462 km² of the upper part of the Stör catchment, located in Northern Germany was investigated. The results of modeling showed a good performance for calibration and validation of daily discharge at three gauging stations of the upper Stör catchment. SWAT calibration shows that discharge components are represented by 34.3% of drainage, 52.8% of groundwater flow, 7.7% of lateral flow and 5.2% of surface runoff in this rural lowland catchment.



Keywords


SWAT model; calibration; validation; lowland watershed.

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References


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