Abstract

The study presents a hydrology concept developed to include lateral water flow in the biogeochemical model ForSAFE. The hydrology concept was evaluated against data collected at Svartberget in the Vindeln Research Forest in Northern Sweden. The results show that the new concept allows simulation of a saturated and an unsaturated zone in the soil as well as water flow that reaches the stream comparable to measurements. The most relevant differences compared to streamflow measurements are that the model simulates a higher base flow in winter and lower flow peaks after snowmelt. These differences are mainly caused by the assumptions made to regulate the percolation at the bottom of the simulated soil columns. The capability for simulating lateral flows and a saturated zone in ForSAFE can greatly improve the simulation of chemical exchange in the soil and export of elements from the soil to watercourses. Such a model can help improve the understanding of how environmental changes in the forest landscape will influence chemical loads to surface waters.

Keywords

hydrologic modeling; forest; Svartberget; transect; streamflow; soil moisture; storage; water balance

Published in

Hydrology
2016, Volume: 3, number: 1, article number: 11

SLU Authors

• Bishop, Kevin

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Köhler, Stephan

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Grip, Harald

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

Lakes and watercourses
Acidification


UKÄ Subject classification

Physical Geography
Environmental Management
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology3010011

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/81235