The new paper contributes to higher confidence in NSWRM modelling results for better decision making

Natural/Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRM) are the focus of the OPTAIN project.Therefore, many of the project's results are based on ecohydrological modelling, which is needed because it would be extremely costly to experiment with the implementation of NSWRM on a larger scale. Modelling can also help to assess the performance of these measures under future climate conditions. Due to the critical importance of modelling, there is a strong need for the models themselves and their results to be verified using appropriate quality assurance methods. As they support decision-making, undetected errors can have significant socio-economic and environmental impacts. To this end, a five-step workflow for verifying the SWAT+ model setup has been developed within the OPTAIN project. This workflow evaluates the soundness of the processes related to weather, water balance, management, plant growth, point source, and tile drain flows. In addition, an R package, SWATdoctR, has been developed to guide the user through the model set-up verification process. It allows easy identification of typical, but often overlooked problems. These results have been presented in a new paper by Svajunas Plunge, Christoph Schürz, Natalja Čerkasova, Michael Strauch, and Mikołaj Piniewski, making them available to the wider scientific community.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105878