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Current Trends in Catchment Biogeochemical and Hydrological Modelling

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2021) | Viewed by 10907

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Geography and Geoecology (IFGG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Interests: catchment biogeochemistry; catchment hydrology; biogeochemical modeling; hydrological modelling; riparian zone; terrestrial–aquatic interface; water quality; forest management; climate scenarios; dominant source layer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biogeochemical and hydrological models are widely used in catchment science to test hypotheses, to improve process understanding, and to project future conditions (e.g., under changes in climate or land cover) for water and landscape management. Model ‘success’ and development have been partially constrained by the quality and spatiotemporal coverage of the observational data they are meant to simulate. The current widespread implementation of in situ sensors to characterize water quality and quantity have dramatically increased the temporal resolution of our observations. This trend is enabling novel conceptual frameworks and rapid developments in our understanding of natural systems. However, how are catchment biogeochemical and hydrological models combining high frequency data with long-term time series to develop new conceptualizations of catchment function? What are the current trends in catchment biogeochemical and hydrological modelling?

In this Special Issue, we invite studies involving innovative aspects of biogeochemical and hydrological modeling at the catchment scale, from small headwaters to large water basins. We welcome studies reporting both model development and new model applications. Studies can be focused on water or solute transport, including commonly studied compounds such as carbon and nutrients, contaminants such as heavy metals, or emerging contaminants such as organic pollutants or microplastics; and might involve isotopic tracers, future scenarios, or uncertainty assessments. The study questions can be purely mechanistic or be integrated in an applied context, such as forest management, agriculture, or drinking water production.

Dr. José L. J. Ledesma
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Catchment biogeochemical modelling
  • Catchment hydrological modelling
  • In situ water quality sensors
  • High-frequency monitoring data
  • Isotopic tracers
  • Solute and water transport
  • Contaminant transport
  • Water management
  • Land use management
  • Climate change

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1915 KiB  
Article
A New, Catchment-Scale Integrated Water Quality Model of Phosphorus, Dissolved Oxygen, Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Phytoplankton: INCA-Phosphorus Ecology (PEco)
by Jill Crossman, Gianbattista Bussi, Paul G. Whitehead, Daniel Butterfield, Emma Lannergård and Martyn N. Futter
Water 2021, 13(5), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13050723 - 7 Mar 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4828
Abstract
Process-based models are commonly used to design management strategies to reduce excessive algal growth and subsequent hypoxia. However, management targets typically focus on phosphorus control, under the assumption that successful nutrient reduction will solve hypoxia issues. Algal responses to nutrient drivers are not [...] Read more.
Process-based models are commonly used to design management strategies to reduce excessive algal growth and subsequent hypoxia. However, management targets typically focus on phosphorus control, under the assumption that successful nutrient reduction will solve hypoxia issues. Algal responses to nutrient drivers are not linear and depend on additional biotic and abiotic controls. In order to generate a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of nutrient control strategies, independent nutrient, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature and algal models must be coupled, which can increase overall uncertainty. Here, we extend an existing process-based phosphorus model (INtegrated CAtchment model of Phosphorus dynamics) to include biological oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO) and algal growth and decay (INCA-PEco). We applied the resultant model in two eutrophied mesoscale catchments with continental and maritime climates. We assessed effects of regional differences in climate and land use on parameter importance during calibration using a generalised sensitivity analysis. We successfully reproduced in-stream total phosphorus (TP), suspended sediment, DO, BOD and chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations across a range of temporal scales, land uses and climate regimes. While INCA-PEco is highly parameterized, model uncertainty can be significantly reduced by focusing calibration and monitoring efforts on just 18 of those parameters. Specifically, calibration time could be optimized by focusing on hydrological parameters (base flow, Manning’s n and river depth). In locations with significant inputs of diffuse nutrients, e.g., in agricultural catchments, detailed data on crop growth and nutrient uptake rates are also important. The remaining parameters provide flexibility to the user, broaden model applicability, and maximize its functionality under a changing climate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Catchment Biogeochemical and Hydrological Modelling)
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17 pages, 4928 KiB  
Article
Framework to Study the Effects of Climate Change on Vulnerability of Ecosystems and Societies: Case Study of Nitrates in Drinking Water in Southern Finland
by Katri Rankinen, Maria Holmberg, Mikko Peltoniemi, Anu Akujärvi, Kati Anttila, Terhikki Manninen and Tiina Markkanen
Water 2021, 13(4), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13040472 - 11 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2225
Abstract
Climate change may alter the services ecosystems provide by changing ecosystem functioning. As ecosystems can also resist environmental perturbations, it is crucial to consider the different processes that influence resilience. Our case study considered increased NO3 concentration in drinking water due [...] Read more.
Climate change may alter the services ecosystems provide by changing ecosystem functioning. As ecosystems can also resist environmental perturbations, it is crucial to consider the different processes that influence resilience. Our case study considered increased NO3 concentration in drinking water due to the climate change. We analyzed changes in ecosystem services connected to water purification at a catchment scale in southern Finland. We combined climate change scenarios with process-based forest growth (PREBAS) and eco-hydrological (PERSiST and INCA) models. We improved traditional model calibration by timing of forest phenology and snow-covered period from network of cameras and satellite data. We upscaled the combined modelling results with scenarios of population growth to form vulnerability maps. The boreal ecosystems seemed to be strongly buffered against NO3- leaching by increase in evapotranspiration and vegetation NO3- uptake. Societal vulnerability varied greatly between scenarios and municipalities. The most vulnerable were agricultural areas on permeable soil types. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Catchment Biogeochemical and Hydrological Modelling)
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17 pages, 4618 KiB  
Article
Nutrient Load Mitigation with Wintertime Cover as Estimated by the INCA Model
by Katri Rankinen, Eila Turtola, Riitta Lemola, Martyn Futter and José Enrique Cano Bernal
Water 2021, 13(4), 450; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13040450 - 9 Feb 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3155
Abstract
Increased nutrient loading causes deterioration of receiving surface waters in areas of intensive agriculture. While nitrate and particulate phosphorus load can be efficiently controlled by reducing tillage frequency and increasing vegetation cover, many field studies have shown simultaneously increased loading of bioavailable phosphorus. [...] Read more.
Increased nutrient loading causes deterioration of receiving surface waters in areas of intensive agriculture. While nitrate and particulate phosphorus load can be efficiently controlled by reducing tillage frequency and increasing vegetation cover, many field studies have shown simultaneously increased loading of bioavailable phosphorus. In the latest phase of the Rural Programme of EU agri-environmental measures, the highest potential to reduce the nutrient loading to receiving waters were the maximum limits for fertilization of arable crops and retaining plant cover on fields with, e.g., no-till methods and uncultivated nature management fields. Due to the latter two measures, the area of vegetation cover has increased since 1995, suggesting clear effects on nutrient loading in the catchment scale as well. We modeled the effectiveness of agri-environmental measures to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen loads to waters and additionally tested the performance of the dynamic, process-based INCA-P (Integrated Nutrients in Catchments—Phosphorus) model to simulate P dynamics in an agricultural catchment. We concluded that INCA-P was able to simulate both fast (immediate) and slow (non-immediate) processes that influence P loading from catchments. Based on our model simulations, it was also evident that no-till methods had increased bioavailable P load to receiving waters, even though total P and total N loading were reduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Catchment Biogeochemical and Hydrological Modelling)
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