Poplar plantation has the potential to alter the water balance in semiarid Inner Mongolia

Poplar plantation is the most dominant broadleaf forest type in northern China. Since the mid-1990s plantation was intensified to combat desertification along China's northwestern border, i.e., within Inner Mongolia (IM). This evoked much concern regarding the ecological and environmental effects on areas that naturally grow grass or shrub vegetation. To highlight potential consequences of large-scale poplar plantations on the water budget within semiarid IM, we compared the growing season water balance (evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation (PPT)) of a 3-yr old poplar plantation (Kp₃) and a natural shrubland (Ks) in the Kubuqi Desert in western IM, and a 6-yr old poplar plantation (Bp₆) growing under sub-humid climate near Beijing. The results showed that, despite 33% lower PPT at Kp₃, ET was 2% higher at Kp₃ (228 mm) as compared with Ks (223 mm) in May–September 2006. The difference derived mainly from higher ET at the plantation during drier periods of the growing season, which also indicated that the poplars must have partly transpired groundwater. Estimated growing season ET at Bp₆ was about 550 mm and more than 100% higher than at Kp₃. It is estimated that increases in leaf area index and net radiation at Kp₃ provide future potential for the poplars in Kubuqi to exceed the present ET and ET of the natural shrubland by 100–200%. These increases in ET are only possible through the permanent use of groundwater either directly by the trees or through increased irrigation. This may significantly change the water balance in the area (e.g., high ET at the cost of a reduction in the water table), which renders large-scale plantations a questionable tool in sustainable arid-land management.     

STRATIFICATION OF VARIABILITY IN RUNOFF AND SEDIMENT YIELD BASED ON VEGETATION CHARACTERISTICS1

ABSTRACT: Runoff and sediment yield were collected from 100 plots during simulated rainfalls (100 mm/hr for 15 minutes) at antecedent soil moisture conditions. A clustering technique was used to stratify the variability of a single data set within a sagebrush‐grass community into four groups based on vegetation life form and amount of cover. The four cluster groups were grass, grass/shrub, shrub, and forb/grass and were found to be significantly different in plant height, surface roughness, soil bulk density, and soil organic matter. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed on the single data set and each cluster group. Results for individual groups resulted in more robust predictive equations for runoff (r²= 0.65–0.73) and sediment yield (r²= 0.37–0.91) than for equations developed from the single data set (r²= 0.56 for runoff and r²= 0.27 for sediment yield). The standard errors of the cluster group regression equations were also improved in three of the four group equations for both runoff and sediment yield compared to the single data set. Runoff was found to be significantly less (p >0.01) in the forb/grass group compared with other vegetation cluster groups, but this was influenced by four plots that produced little or no runoff. Sediment yield was not found to be significantly different among any cluster groups. Discriminant analysis was then used to identify important variables and develop a model to classify plots into one of the four cluster groups. The discriminant model could be incorporated into rangeland hydrology and erosion models. The percentage cover of grasses, shrubs, litter, and bare ground effectively stratified about 12 percent of the variation observed in runoff and 26 percent of the variability for sediment yield as determined by r².     

Decreased Runoff Response to Precipitation,Little Missouri River Basin,Northern Great Plains,USA

High variability in precipitation and streamflow in the semiarid northern Great Plains causes large uncertainty in water availability. This uncertainty is compounded by potential effects of future climate change. We examined historical variability in annual and growing season precipitation, temperature, and streamflow within the Little Missouri River Basin and identified differences in the runoff response to precipitation for the period 1976‐2012 compared to 1939‐1975 (n = 37 years in both cases). Computed mean values for the second half of the record showed little change (<5%) in annual or growing season precipitation, but average annual runoff at the basin outlet decreased by 22%, with 66% of the reduction in flow occurring during the growing season. Our results show a statistically significant (p < 0.10) 27% decrease in the annual runoff response to precipitation (runoff ratio). Surface‐water withdrawals for various uses appear to account for <12% of the reduction in average annual flow volume, and we found no published or reported evidence of substantial flow reduction caused by groundwater pumping in this basin. Results of our analysis suggest that increases in monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures, including >1°C increases in January through March, are the dominant driver of the observed decrease in runoff response to precipitation in the Little Missouri River Basin.     

IMPROVED RAINFALL/RUNOFF ESTIMATES USING REMOTELY SENSED SOIL MOISTURE1

ABSTRACT: Remotely sensed soil moisture data measured during the Southern Great Plains 1997 (SGP97) experiment in Oklahoma were used to characterize antecedent soil moisture conditions for the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method. The precipitation‐adjusted curve number and the soil moisture were strongly related (r²= 0.70). Remotely sensed soil moisture fields were used to adjust the curve numbers and the runoff estimates for five watersheds, in the Little Washita watershed; the results ranged from 2.8 km² to 601.6 km². The soil moisture data were applied at two spatial scales, a finer one (800 m) measuring spatial resolution and a coarser one (28 km). The root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean absolute error (MAE) of the runoff estimated by the standard SCS method was reduced by nearly 50 percent when the 800 m soil moisture data were used to adjust the curve number. The coarser scale soil moisture data also significantly reduced the error in the runoff predictions with 41 percent and 28 percent reductions in MAE and RMSE, respectively. The results suggest that remote sensing of soil moisture, when combined with the SCS method, can improve rainfall runoff predictions at a range of spatial scales.     

EMPIRICAL MODELING OF HYDROLOGIC AND NFS POLLUTANT FLUX IN AN URBANIZING BASIN1

ABSTRACT: Long term effects of precipitation and land use/land cover on basin outflow and nonpoint source (NFS) pollutant flux are presented for up to 24 years for a rapidly developing headwater basin and three adjacent headwater basins on the urban fringe of Washington, D.C. Regression models are developed to describe the annual and seasonal responses of basin outflow and IMPS pollutant flux to precipitation, mean impervious surface (IS), and land use. To quantify annual change in mean IS, a variable called delta IS is created as a temporal indicator of urban soil disturbance. Hydrologic models indicate that total annual surface outflow is significantly associated with precipitation and mean IS (r²= 0.65). Seasonal hydrologic models reveal that basin outflow is positively associated with IS during the summer and fall growing season (June to November). NPS pollutant flux models indicate that total and storm total suspended solids (TSS) flux are significantly associated with precipitation and urban soil disturbance in all seasons. Annual NPS total nitrogen flux is significantly associated with both urban and agricultural soil disturbance (r²= 0.51). Seasonal models of phosphorus flux indicate a significant association of total phosphorus flux with urban soil disturbance during the growing season. Total soluble phosphorus (TSP) flux is significantly associated with IS (r²= 0.34) and urban and agricultural soil disturbance (r²= 0.58). In urbanizing Cub Run basin, annual TSP concentrations are significantly associated with IS and cultivated agriculture (r²= 0.51).     

A REVISED VERSION OF PnET‐II TO SIMULATE THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE IN SOUTHEASTERN FORESTED AREAS1

ABSTRACT: The PnET‐II model uses hydroclimatic data on maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, and solar radiation, together with vegetation and soil parameters, to produce estimates of net primary productivity, evapotranspiration (ET), and runoff on a monthly time step for forested areas. In this study, the PnET‐II model was employed to simulate the hydrologic cycle for 17 Southeastern eight‐digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) watersheds dominated by evergreen or deciduous tree species. Based on these control experiments, model biases were quantified and tentative revision schemes were introduced. Revisions included: (1) replacing the original single soil layer with three soil layers in the water balance routine; (2) introducing calibrating factors to rectify the phenomenon of overestimation of ET in spring and early summer months; (3) parameterizing proper values of growing degree days for trees located in different climate zones; and (4) adjusting the parameter of fast‐flow (overland flow) fraction based on antecedent moisture condition and precipitation intensity. The revised PnET‐II model, called PnET‐II3SL in this work, substantially improved runoff simulations for the 17 selected experimental sites, and therefore may offer a more powerful tool to address issues in water resources management.     

Modeling the Spatially Varying Water Balance Processes in a Semiarid Mountainous Watershed of Idaho1

Stratton, Benjamin T., Venakataramana Sridhar, Molly M. Gribb, James P. McNamara, and Balaji Narasimhan, 2009. Modeling the Spatially Varying Water Balance Processes in a Semiarid Mountainous Watershed of Idaho. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1390‐1408. Abstract: The distributed Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model was applied to a research watershed, the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed, near Boise Idaho to investigate its water balance components both temporally and spatially. Calibrating and validating SWAT is necessary to enable our understanding of the water balance components in this semiarid watershed. Daily streamflow data from four streamflow gages were used for calibration and validation of the model. Monthly estimates of streamflow during the calibration phase by SWAT produced satisfactory results with a Nash Sutcliffe coefficient of model efficiency 0.79. Since it is a continuous simulation model, as opposed to an event‐based model, it demonstrated the limited ability in capturing both streamflow and soil moisture for selected rain‐on‐snow (ROS) events during the validation period between 2005 and 2007. Especially, soil moisture was generally underestimated compared with observations from two monitoring pits. However, our implementation of SWAT showed that seasonal and annual water balance partitioning of precipitation into evapotranspiration, streamflow, soil moisture, and drainage was not only possible but closely followed the trends of a typical semiarid watershed in the intermountain west. This study highlights the necessity for better techniques to precisely identify and drive the model with commonly observed climatic inversion‐related snowmelt or ROS weather events. Estimation of key parameters pertaining to soil (e.g., available water content and saturated hydraulic conductivity), snow (e.g., lapse rates, melting), and vegetation (e.g., leaf area index and maximum canopy index) using additional field observations in the watershed is critical for better prediction.     

Characterizing Runoff and Water Yield for Headwater Catchments in the Southern Sierra Nevada

In a Mediterranean climate where much of the precipitation falls during winter, snowpacks serve as the primary source of dry season runoff. Increased warming has led to significant changes in hydrology of the western United States. An important question in this context is how to best manage forested catchments for water and other ecosystem services? Answering this basic question requires detailed understanding of hydrologic functioning of these catchments. Here, we depict the differences in hydrologic response of 10 catchments. Size of the study catchments ranges from 50 to 475 ha, and they span between 1,782 and 2,373 m elevation in the rain‐snow transitional zone. Mean annual streamflow ranged from 281 to 408 mm in the low elevation Providence and 436 to 656 mm in the high elevation Bull catchments, resulting in a 49 mm streamflow increase per 100 m (R² = 0.79) elevation gain, despite similar precipitation across the 10 catchments. Although high elevation Bull catchments received significantly more precipitation as snow and thus experienced a delayed melt, this increase in streamflow with elevation was mainly due to a reduction in evapotranspiration (ET) with elevation (45 mm/100 m, R² = 0.65). The reduction in ET was attributed to decline in vegetation density, growing season, and atmospheric demand with increasing elevation. These findings suggest changes in streamflow in response to climate warming may likely depend on how vegetation responds to those changes in climate.     

The Effect of Water Harvesting Techniques on Runoff,Sedimentation, and Soil Properties

This study addressed the hydrological processes of runoff and sedimentation, soil moisture content, and properties under the effect of different water harvesting techniques (treatments). The study was conducted at three sites, representing environmental condition gradients, located in the southern part of the West Bank. For each treatment, the study evaluated soil chemical and physical properties, soil moisture at 30 cm depth, surface runoff and sedimentation at each site. Results showed that runoff is reduced by 65–85% and sedimentation by 58–69% in stone terraces and semi-circle bunds compared to the control at the semi-humid site. In addition, stone terraces and contour ridges significantly reduced the amount of total runoff by 80% and 73%, respectively, at the arid site. Soil moisture content was significantly increased by water harvesting techniques compared to the control in all treatments at the three study sites. In addition, the difference between the control and the water harvesting structures were higher in the arid and semi-arid areas than in the semi-humid area. Soil and water conservation, via utilization of water harvesting structures, is an effective principle for reducing the negative impact of high runoff intensity and subsequently increasing soil moisture storage from rainfall. Jessour systems in the valley and stone terraces were effective in increasing soil moisture storage, prolonging the growing season for natural vegetation, and decreasing the amount of supplemental irrigation required for growing fruit trees.     

Estimating Annual Groundwater Evapotranspiration from Phreatophytes in the Great Basin Using Landsat and Flux Tower Measurements

Escalating concerns about water supplies in the Great Basin have prompted numerous water budget studies focused on groundwater recharge and discharge. For many hydrographic areas (HAs) in the Great Basin, most of the recharge is discharged by bare soil evaporation and evapotranspiration (ET) from phreatophyte vegetation. Estimating recharge from precipitation in a given HA is difficult and often has significant uncertainty, therefore it is often quantified by estimating the natural discharge. As such, remote sensing applications for spatially distributing flux tower estimates of ET and groundwater ET (ET_g) across phreatophyte areas are becoming more common. We build on previous studies and develop a transferable empirical relationship with uncertainty bounds between flux tower estimates of ET and a remotely sensed vegetation index, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). Energy balance‐corrected ET measured from 40 flux tower site‐year combinations in the Great Basin was statistically correlated with EVI derived from Landsat imagery (r² = 0.97). Application of the relationship to estimate mean‐annual ET_g from four HAs in western and eastern Nevada is highlighted and results are compared with previous estimates. Uncertainty bounds about the estimated mean ET_g allow investigators to evaluate if independent groundwater discharge estimates are “believable” and will ultimately assist local, state, and federal agencies to evaluate expert witness reports of ET_g, along with providing new first‐order estimates of ET_g.     

Soil water repellency induced by long-term irrigation with treated sewage effluent

This study describes soil water repellency developed under prolonged irrigation with treated sewage effluent in a semiarid environment. Soil surface layer (0-5 cm) and soil profile (0-50 cm) transects were sampled at a high resolution at the close of the irrigation season and rainy winter season. Samples from 0- to 5-cm transects were subdivided into 1-cm slices to obtain fine scale resolution of repellency and organic matter distribution. Extreme to severe soil water repellency in the 0- to 5-cm soil surface layer persisted throughout the 2-yr study period in the effluent-irrigated Shamouti orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck cv. Shamouti] orchard plot. Nearby Shamouti orange plots irrigated with tap water were either nonrepellent or only somewhat repellent. Repellency was very variable spatially and with depth, appearing in vertically oriented "repellency tongues." Temporal and spatial variability in repellency in the uppermost 5-cm soil surface layer was not related to seasonality, soil moisture content, or soil organic matter content. Nonuniform distribution of soil moisture and fingered flow were observed in the soil profile after both seasons, demonstrating that the repellent layer had a persistent effect on water flow in the soil profile. A lack of correlation between bulk density and volumetric water content in the soil profile demonstrates that the observed nonuniform spatial distribution of moisture results from preferential flow and not heterogeneity in soil properties. Soil water repellency can adversely affect agricultural production, cause contamination of underlying ground water resources, and result in excessive runoff and soil erosion.     

Watershed Evapotranspiration Increased due to Changes in Vegetation Composition and Structure Under a Subtropical Climate1

Abstract: Natural forests in southern China have been severely logged due to high human demand for timber, food, and fuels during the past century, but are recovering in the past decade. The objective of this study was to investigate how vegetation cover changes in composition and structure affected the water budgets of a 9.6‐km² Dakeng watershed located in a humid subtropical mountainous region in southern China. We analyzed 27 years (i.e., 1967‐1993) of streamflow and climate data and associated vegetation cover change in the watershed. Land use/land cover census and Normalized Difference of Vegetation Index (NDVI) data derived from remote sensing were used to construct historic land cover change patterns. We found that over the period of record, annual streamflow (Q) and runoff/precipitation ratio did not change significantly, nor did the climatic variables, including air temperature, Hamon’s potential evapotranspiration (ET), pan evaporation, sunshine hours, and radiation. However, annual ET estimated as the differences between P and Q showed a statistically significant increasing trend. Overall, the NDVI of the watershed had a significant increasing trend in the peak spring growing season. This study concluded that watershed ecosystem ET increased as the vegetation cover shifted from low stock forests to shrub and grasslands that had higher ET rates. A conceptual model was developed for the study watershed to describe the vegetation cover‐streamflow relationships during a 50‐year time frame. This paper highlighted the importance of eco‐physiologically based studies in understanding transitory, nonstationary effects of deforestation or forestation on watershed water balances.     

Quantifying Outdoor Water Consumption of Urban Land Use/Land Cover: Sensitivity to Drought

Outdoor water use is a key component in arid city water systems for achieving sustainable water use and ensuring water security. Using evapotranspiration (ET) calculations as a proxy for outdoor water consumption, the objectives of this research are to quantify outdoor water consumption of different land use and land cover types, and compare the spatio-temporal variation in water consumption between drought and wet years. An energy balance model was applied to Landsat 5 TM time series images to estimate daily and seasonal ET for the Central Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research region (CAP-LTER). Modeled ET estimations were correlated with water use data in 49 parks within CAP-LTER and showed good agreement (r ² = 0.77), indicating model effectiveness to capture the variations across park water consumption. Seasonally, active agriculture shows high ET (>500 mm) for both wet and dry conditions, while the desert and urban land cover types experienced lower ET during drought (<300 mm). Within urban locales of CAP-LTER, xeric neighborhoods show significant differences from year to year, while mesic neighborhoods retain their ET values (400–500 mm) during drought, implying considerable use of irrigation to sustain their greenness. Considering the potentially limiting water availability of this region in the future due to large population increases and the threat of a warming and drying climate, maintaining large water-consuming, irrigated landscapes challenges sustainable practices of water conservation and the need to provide amenities of this desert area for enhancing quality of life.     

DEFINING WATERSHED-SCALE EVAPORATION USING A NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX1

Monthly composites of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI), derived from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVILRR), were transformed linearly into monthly evaporation rates and compared with detailed hydrologic-model simulation results for five watersheds across the United States. Model-simulated monthly evaporation values showed high correlations (mean R²= .77) with NDVI-derived evaporation estimates. These latter estimates, used in a classical water balance model, resulted in equally accurate simulations of monthly runoff than when the model was run to estimate monthly evaporation via soil moisture accounting. Comparison of NDVI-derived evaporation estimates with pan data showed promise for transforming NDVI values into evaporation estimates under both wet and water-limiting conditions without resorting to the application of any kind of calibrated hydrologic models.     

Slope and pig slurry rate may increase the transfer of chemical elements by surface water runoff

There is a need to evaluate the interference of pig slurry rate and the terrain slope in the chemical elements losses from the soil. This work aimed to quantify water and chemical element losses by surface runoff due to terrain slope and pig slurry rate (PS) in two soils with contrasting textures. Two trials were evaluated in 2018 and 2019 in Cambisol and Nitisol. Rates of 0, 22.5, 45, and 90 m³ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ of PS were applied superficially in sites with slopes ranging from 10% to 35%. Perennial forage grass Tifton 85 (Cynodon dactylon) was grown as summer crop and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) was sown in the cold seasons in a field environment. Were determined the runoff, the volume of water, and chemical elements (Al, Ca, P, Mg, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb, and Zn) lost by the surface runoff after natural rainfall. Increasing land slope elevated water losses substantially, on average 23.4 times in Cambisol and 10.8 times in Nitisol. This increase resulted in average increases of 27.6 and 12.4 times in the losses of the chemical elements analyzed for Cambisol and Nitisol, respectively. There was a reduction in water losses by surface runoff due to increased PS rates applied in both sites. The increased PS rate affected the losses of Cr and Cu in Cambisol and P, Mg, Cd, and Cu in Nitisol. The clayey soil potentiated the water and chemical elements losses by surface runoff in relation to the soil with lower clay content. Regardless of the soil, water and chemical element losses are maximized at higher slopes.     

RUNOFF AND SEDIMENT YIELD UNDER GRAZING IN FOOTHILLS FESCUE GRASSLANDS OF ALBERTA1

ABSTRACT: Grazing can have a profound impact on infiltration and thus runoff and erosion. The objectives of this study were to quantify the effects of select grazing systems on rainfall and snowmelt induced runoff and sediment yield from sloped areas of the foothills fescue grasslands of Alberta, Canada. The effects of two grazing intensities (heavy and very heavy) for two durations (short duration and continuous throughout the growing season) were compared to an ungrazed control between June 1988 and April 1991. Runoff was measured using 1-rn² runoff frames and collection bucket systems. Sediment yields were then determined on samples from the collected runoff. Snowmelt was the dominant source of runoff. Snowmelt runoff was higher from the heavily grazed areas than from the very heavily grazed areas, due to the higher standing vegetation which accumulated snow in the former areas. Sediment yields as a result of snowmelt were generally low in all areas. Only a few summer storms caused runoff. Runoff volumes and sediment yields from summer rainstorms were low, due to low rainfall and to generally dry antecedent soil moisture conditions. The greatest risk of summer runoff, and thus sediment yield, appears to occur in August.     

Seasonal dynamics in earthworm density, casting activity and soil nutrient cycling under Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) in semiarid tropics, India

This work illustrates the result of a study on earthworm abundance, seasonal population dynamics and casting activities under Bermuda grass cover in a semiarid tropical part of Rajasthan, India. The earthworm abundance and their casting activities showed the drastic variation during different seasons. The maximum density (individual m^?2) of earthworms was recorded in autumn (87.0?±?7.2) and minimum in winter (5.3?±?3.2) season in grassland. There was also variation in temperature and moisture of canopy soil in different seasons of the experimental year. The casting activities of earthworm also showed variations among different seasons. The maximum cast production rate was recorded during autumn (690.0?±?78.0?g?m^?2) while in winter (17.3?±?5.1?g?m^?2), earthworms showed the lowest cast production rate. The chemical composition of worm casts and parental soil layers (topsoil: 0?C10?cm depth and subsoil: 10?C25?cm depth) in grassland ecosystem was also monitored. The earthworm casts collected during winter showed the maximum level of total N (0.890?g?kg^?1), available P (0.373?g?kg^?1), exchangeable K (0.835?g?kg^?1), exchangeable Ca (7.10?g?kg^?1) and exchangeable Mg level (5.93?g?kg^?1) while the maximum organic C content (5.27?g?kg^?1) was recorded in surface casts deposited in rainy season. The level of major soil nutrients was also high in worm casts than parental soil and indicates the earthworm-mediated nutrient mineralization and organic matter transformation. Results thus clearly suggest the major role of earthworm in soil nutrient transformation in semiarid ecosystem.     

CLASSIFYING STORM RUNOFF POTENTIAL WITH PASSIVE MICROWAVE MEASUREMENTS1

ABSTRACT: The average microwave temperature of the watershed surface as detected by an airborne Passive Microwave Imaging Scanner (PMIS) was compared with the measured Soil Conservation Service (SCS) watershed storm runoff coefficient (CN). Previous laboratory work suggested that microwave response to the watershed surface is influenced by some of the same surface characteristics that affect runoff, i.e., soil moisture, surface roughness, vegetative cover, and soil texture. In order to field test and develop relations between runoff potentfal and microwave response, several highly instrumented watersheds of approximately 1.5 to 17 km2 were scanned under wet- and dry-soil conditions in April and June 1973. The polarized (horizontal and vertical) scans at 2.8 cm wavelength provided the data base from which other values were calculated. The best relationship between runoff coefficients (CN) and PMIS temperatures was observed when horizontally polarized temperatures from the near-dormant, early-growing season flight were used. Lower SCS runoff coefficients seem to be correlated with the cross-polarized response under dry watershed conditions late in the growing season and the difference in horizontal polarized response between wet conditions early in the growing season and dry conditions late in the growing season. To apply the results, the relationships need to be verified further.     

Spatial and Temporal Evaluation of Hydrological Response to Climate and Land Use Change in Three South Dakota Watersheds

This study analyzed changes in hydrology between two recent decades (1980s and 2010s) with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in three representative watersheds in South Dakota: Bad River, Skunk Creek, and Upper Big Sioux River watersheds. Two SWAT models were created over two discrete time periods (1981‐1990 and 2005‐2014) for each watershed. National Land Cover Datasets 1992 and 2011 were, respectively, ingested into 1981‐1990 and 2005‐2014 models, along with corresponding weather data, to enable comparison of annual and seasonal runoff, soil water content, evapotranspiration (ET), water yield, and percolation between these two decades. Simulation results based on the calibrated models showed that surface runoff, soil water content, water yield, and percolation increased in all three watersheds. Elevated ET was also apparent, except in Skunk Creek watershed. Differences in annual water balance components appeared to follow changes in land use more closely than variation in precipitation amounts, although seasonal variation in precipitation was reflected in seasonal surface runoff. Subbasin‐scale spatial analyses revealed noticeable increases in water balance components mostly in downstream parts of Bad River and Skunk Creek watersheds, and the western part of Upper Big Sioux River watershed. Results presented in this study provide some insight into recent changes in hydrological processes in South Dakota watersheds. Editor's note: This paper is part of the featured series on SWAT Applications for Emerging Hydrologic and Water Quality Challenges. See the February 2017 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

Spatiotemporal Evaluation of Simulated Evapotranspiration and Streamflow over Texas Using the WRF‐Hydro‐RAPID Modeling Framework

This study assesses a large‐scale hydrologic modeling framework (WRF‐Hydro‐RAPID) in terms of its high‐resolution simulation of evapotranspiration (ET) and streamflow over Texas (drainage area: 464,135 km²). The reference observations used include eight‐day ET data from MODIS and FLUXNET, and daily river discharge data from 271 U.S. Geological Survey gauges located across a climate gradient. A recursive digital filter is applied to decompose the river discharge into surface runoff and base flow for comparison with the model counterparts. While the routing component of the model is pre‐calibrated, the land component is uncalibrated. Results show the model performance for ET and runoff is aridity‐dependent. ET is better predicted in a wet year than in a dry year. Streamflow is better predicted in wet regions with the highest efficiency ~0.7. In comparison, streamflow is most poorly predicted in dry regions with a large positive bias. Modeled ET bias is more strongly correlated with the base flow bias than surface runoff bias. These results complement previous evaluations by incorporating more spatial details. They also help identify potential processes for future model improvements. Indeed, improving the dry region streamflow simulation would require synergistic enhancements of ET, soil moisture and groundwater parameterizations in the current model configuration. Our assessments are important preliminary steps towards accurate large‐scale hydrologic forecasts.