Short Description
The H2020 OPTAIN project involves both, catchment-, and field-scale modelling of the transport of water and nutrients. The catchment-scale modelling is performed at fourteen case study catchments across Europe using the SWAT+ model. It incorporates several developments, done within the OPTAIN project to better meet its goals and to provide new tools for the case-study modellers i) for advanced incorporation of measures in the model; ii) to create input files and management tables and iii) to perform verification of the model setup. It also introduces the new Contiguous Object Connectivity Approach that allows improved, compared to the previous approaches, representation of connectivity within the landscape. At seven OPTAIN case studies, field-scale modelling is applied using the SWAP model. The aim of the SWAP modelling is to provide data on soil water balance elements using a more sophisticated, at field-scale, soil hydrological model and to cross-validate this data with the relevant fields, represented by Hydrologic Response Units in SWAT+. Both SWAT+ and SWAP will be applied for scenario analyses to evaluate the effects of water retention measures on water regime and nutrient transport at present and future climate conditions. The SWAT+ projects will incorporate the various combinations of both, structural and management measures to support the OPTAIN optimisation purposes. In the SWAP model, management scenarios will be implemented, which can be done in a more process-based way, compared to SWAT+. Further, the scenario results will be cross-validated and analysed. In this deliverable D4.2, the basic principles of applying the SWAT+ and SWAP models to OPTAIN case studies and the concept of cross-validating the two models are given. The SWAT+ protocol describes the new tools and guides the reader through all the steps of the model setup, parameterization, verification, soft- and hard calibration and combined scenario analyses. As the official manual from the SWAP model developers is rather detailed and complex, the OPTAIN SWAP modelling protocol focuses on practical issues, without overwhelming the modellers with information unnecessary for their case-studies. We also provide new tools, developed within the OPTAIN project for reference data quality check, model calibration and visualisation of the model results.
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