Long Term Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Calibration from an Ecohydrology Perspective

Raghavan  Srinivasan; Sivarajah  Mylevaganam; Vijay P.  Singh

doi:10.4236/ojapps.2015.57035

Sivarajah Mylevaganam¹^*, Raghavan Srinivasan¹, Vijay P. Singh²

Abstract: The performance on prediction by mathematical models which represent the conceived image of a system such as hydrology is oftentimes represented through calibration and verification processes. Oftentimes a best fit between observed and predicted flows is obtained through correlation coefficient (R2) and the Nash Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE) by minimizing the average Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of the observed versus simulated flows. However, these days, a new paradigm is emerging wherein accounting for the flow variability for the protection of freshwater biodiversity and maintenance of goods and services that rivers provide is paramount. Therefore, from an ecohydrology perspective, it is not clear if the existing method of model calibration meets the needs of the riverine ecosystem at its best. Thus, this study investigates and proposes a methodology using entropy theory to gage the calibration of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) from an ecohydrology perspective characterized by the natural flow-regime paradigm: Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration.

Keywords: Principle of Maximum Entropy, Ecohydrology, Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration, Maximum Entropy Ordered Weighted Averaging, Soil and Water Assessment Tool, Calibration

Cite this paper: Mylevaganam, S. , Srinivasan, R. and Singh, V. (2015) Long Term Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Calibration from an Ecohydrology Perspective. Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 5, 344-354. doi: 10.4236/ojapps.2015.57035.

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