Using normalised difference infrared index patterns to constrain semi-distributed rainfall–runoff models in tropical nested catchments

A parsimonious semi-distributed rainfall–runoff model has been developed for flow prediction. In distribution, attention is paid to both the timing of the runoff and the heterogeneity of moisture storage capacities within sub-catchments. This model is based on the lumped FLEXL model structure, which has proven its value in a wide range of...

Comparing the Normalized Difference Infrared Index (NDII) with root zone storage in a lumped conceptual model

With remote sensing we can readily observe the Earth’s surface, but direct observation of the sub-surface remains a challenge. In hydrology, but also in related disciplines such as agricultural and atmospheric sciences, knowledge of the dynamics of soil moisture in the root zone of vegetation is essential, as this part of the vadose zone is the...

Accounting for the influence of vegetation and landscape improves model transferability in a tropical savannah region

Understanding which catchment characteristics dominate hydrologic response and how to take them into account remains a challenge in hydrological modeling, particularly in ungauged basins. This is even more so in nontemperate and nonhumid catchments, where—due to the combination of seasonality and the occurrence of dry spells—threshold processes...

Spatial transferability of landscape-based hydrological models

Climate controls how ecosystems size the root zone storage capacity at catchment scale

Climate controls how ecosystems size the root zone storage capacity at catchment scale

The root zone moisture storage capacity (SR) of terrestrial ecosystems is a buffer providing vegetation continuous access to water and a critical factor controlling land-atmospheric moisture exchange, hydrological response, and biogeochemical processes. However, it is impossible to observe directly at catchment scale. Here, using data from 300...