SWAT Literature Database for Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Title:Evaluating hydrology of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with new tile drain equations 
Authors:Moriasi, D.N., C.G. Rossi, J.G. Arnold and M.D. Tomer 
Year:2012 
Journal:Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 
Volume (Issue):67(6) 
Pages:513-524 
Article ID: 
DOI:10.2489/jswc.67.6.513 
URL (non-DOI journals): 
Model:SWAT (modified) 
Broad Application Category:hydrologic only 
Primary Application Category:tile drainage effects and/or processes 
Secondary Application Category:hydrologic assessment 
Watershed Description:775 km^2 South Fork (of the Iowa) River in north central Iowa, U.S. 
Calibration Summary: 
Validation Summary: 
General Comments: 
Abstract:Abstract: Although subsurface drainage is a water management system widely used to maximize crop production in regions with seasonal high water tables, such as the midwestern United States, it is also a major source of nutrients into water bodies. Recently, physically based Hooghoudt and Kirkham tile drain equations were incorporated into the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model (herein referred to as Modified SWAT) as alternative tile flow simulation methods and a tool to design cost-effective and environment-friendly tile drain water management systems. The goal of this study was to determine a range of values for the new tile drain parameters and to use measured streamflow data from the South Fork Watershed (SFW) in Iowa to evaluate the capability of the Modified SWAT to simulate water balance components for this tile-drained watershed. This was accomplished by reviewing literature of tile drainage studies and by comparing measured streamflow with that predicted by the Modified SWAT using the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and percent bias (PBIAS [%])statistical methods in addition to hydrographs. During the calibration period, the Modified SWAT simulated streamflow very well (monthly NSE = 0.85 and PBIAS = ±2.3%). During the validation period, the Modified SWAT model simulated streamflow well (monthly NSE = 0.70 and PBIAS = ±2.5%). Simulated water balance results indicated that the soil water with tile drainage (260 mm [10 in]) was significantly (p-value = 0.00) lower than soil water without tile drainage (355 mm [14 in]), while streamflow with (205 mm [8 in]) tile drainage was significantly (p-value = 0.03) greater than streamflow without (128 mm[ 5 in]) tile drainage. This shows that the Hooghoudt steady-state and Kirkham tile drain equations are potential alternative tile flow simulation methods and tile drainage design tools in SWAT. 
Language:English 
Keywords:Hooghoudt; Kirkham; simulation accuracy; Soil Water Assessment Tool; streamflow; tile drainage