Evaluation of SWAT performance in modeling nutrients of Awash River basin, Ethiopia

Keraga, Amare Shiberu; Kiflie, Zebene; Engida, Agizew Nigussie

doi:10.1007/s40808-018-0533-y

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…In the highlands, the mean annual precipitation amounts to 1,600 mm, and only 160 mm in the northern part of the catchment (Edossa et al, 2010). Similarly, the mean annual air temperature exhibits a spatial variation from 16.7 to 34.5°C (Keraga et al, 2019). The drainage basin consists of two freshwater ecoregions: the Ethiopian Highlands and the Northern Eastern Rift (Abell et al, 2008).…”

Section: Study Area and Sampling Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Awash River is under extreme human pressure. Deforestation, plantations of Eucalyptus and Prosopis, intensive agricultural use and overgrazing by livestock linked with high nutrient input and erosional processes, as well as industrial and domestic water pollution, are common (Degefu et al, 2013;Keraga et al, 2019). However, this affects mainly the highlands.…”

Section: Anthropogenic Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Longitudinal river zonation in the tropics: examples of fish and caddisflies from the endorheic Awash River, Ethiopia

et al. 2020

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Specific concepts of fluvial ecology are well studied in riverine ecosystems of the temperate zone but poorly investigated in the Afrotropical region. Hence, we examined the longitudinal zonation of fish and adult caddisfly (Trichoptera) assemblages in the endorheic Awash River (1,250 km in length), Ethiopia. We expected that species assemblages are structured along environmental gradients, reflecting the pattern of large-scale freshwater ecoregions. We applied multivariate statistical methods to test for differences in spatial species assemblage structure and identified characteristic taxa of the observed biocoenoses by indicator species analyses. Fish and caddisfly assemblages were clustered into highland and lowland communities, following the freshwater ecoregions, but separated by an ecotone with highest biodiversity. Moreover, the caddisfly results suggest separating the heterogeneous highlands into a forested and a deforested zone. Surprisingly, the Awash drainage is rather species-poor: only 11 fish (1 endemic, 2 introduced) and 28 caddisfly species (8 new records for Ethiopia) were recorded from the mainstem and its major tributaries. Nevertheless, specialized species characterize the highland forests, whereas the lowlands primarily host geographically widely distributed species. This study showed that a combined approach of fish and caddisflies is a suitable method for assessing regional characteristics of fluvial ecosystems in the tropics.

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Section: Study Area and Sampling Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Anthropogenic Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal river zonation in the tropics: examples of fish and caddisflies from the endorheic Awash River, Ethiopia

et al. 2020

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“…The screening of the feasible in‐stream model was predicated on seven criteria (see Table 2). The criteria were prepared in view of the currently modeling experiences in the Awash basin and enabling an improvement in the future (Angello et al, 2021; Bussi et al, 2021; Keraga, 2019). The streams in the Awash basin are usually small and shallow, and the greatest water quality gradients generally occur along the flow axis, and thus, one‐dimensional (longitudinal) models that employ cross‐sectional averaging are appropriate for simulation.…”

Section: Findings Of Informational Data and Institutional Issues To S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the structures and arrangements of water institutions to include in‐stream modeling for water quality management and control pollution: Insights from the Awash Basin, Ethiopia

Zinabu,

Alamirew,

Whitehead

et al. 2024

World Water Policy

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Healthy rivers and stream waters support sustainable use and protect the ecological health of water flows. Developing countries rarely include in‐stream water quality modeling in their strategic policy documents. In the sub‐Saharan regions, stream water quality is declining due to many human activities. Ethiopian is no different, and its environmental policy does not directly target the importance of impact and planning analyses. Also, it does not include decision making processes for the protection of water ecology and multiple water uses. In this study, stream water quality issues in the Awash Basin have been assessed. The key sources of land‐based pollutants have been identified, and the availability and appropriateness related data have been examined and evaluated as well as the capacity of model users of institutions. Applicable models with the capability of simulating the Awash streams are presented and the changes needed for the existing settings suggested. The model selection was undertaken using a set of criteria based on environmental assumptions to enable environmental improvement into the future. The available hydrological and monitoring information provides an opportunity to apply model analyses, while the poor capacity of the governmental model users is of concern. With limited supporting conditions in governmental water institutions, the level of in‐stream water quality modeling integration in the Awash Basin development plans is too low to make recommendations based on key areas of support. It is time to apply and capitalize on the potential opportunity of using the models in local, regional, and national institutions for planning and impact analyses and strategic policy documents. The methods described in this study can be a guidance for model practitioners of the Awash basin targeting improvement in their institutions.

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“…A SWAT-CUP sensitivity analysis (Arnold et al, 2012;Hosseini & Khaleghi, 2020) was done to identify which parameters had a meaningful effect on the predicted results of streamflow and sediment yield. Sensitivity analysis is a technique for determining the most crucial parameters for SWAT model calibration and validation (Dong, Xiong, Lall, & Wang, 2015;Keraga, Kiflie, & Engida, 2019).Commenly there are 27 parameters in SWAT, and they are grouped in six (groundwater, basin, sub-basin, main channel, HRU, and soil).…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying and prioritizing Sediment-prone areas at the sub-basin level of Tekeze watershed, Ethiopia

Hailu

Mishra

Jain

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Soil erosion is a serious concern around the world because of its detrimental effect on agricultural productivity and reservoir storage capacity, which is mostly caused by improper land management. Effective land management entails expensive soil conservation measures which are not affordable in developing countries, especially in large watersheds. Thus, identifying the most vulnerable areas for sediment yield and executing remedial measures for those areas is critical to lower costs and maintain effectiveness. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is one of the commonly used models to identify weak zones for erosion from smaller units (hydrologic response units). In this study, the watershed of Tekeze was divided into 34 subbasins and 158 hydrologic response units, and the areas most vulnerable for sediment production were identified using the SWAT model. The model was evaluated using SWAT-CUP SUFI 2 algorithms by comparing predicted streamflow and sediment yield in the Tekeze basin with observed values. For streamflow, R2 = 0.76, 0.85, NS = 0.76, 0.69, PBIAS=-8.1, 13.4, and for sediment, R2 = 0.8, 0.66, NS =0.8, 0.62, PBIAS=-4.1, 4.1 for calibration and validation, respectively. Results showed a large variation in sediment yield from one subbasin to the other. Out of 34 subbasins, four had a very high sediment yield (21 to 39 t/ha/yr), two had high (16 to 20 t/ha/yr), one had medium (11 to 15 t/ha/yr), four had low (6 to 10 t/ha/yr) and the rest had a very low sediment yield (0 to 5 t/ha/yr). One subbasin had quite a high SDR(> 0.45), and the other three had a high SDR (0.45-0.32). The overall result sediment delivery ratio indicated that subbasins 1, 3, 5, 14, 17, and 28 required great attention.

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Evaluation of SWAT performance in modeling nutrients of Awash River basin, Ethiopia

Cited by 9 publications

References 46 publications

Longitudinal river zonation in the tropics: examples of fish and caddisflies from the endorheic Awash River, Ethiopia

Longitudinal river zonation in the tropics: examples of fish and caddisflies from the endorheic Awash River, Ethiopia

Evaluating the structures and arrangements of water institutions to include in‐stream modeling for water quality management and control pollution: Insights from the Awash Basin, Ethiopia

Identifying and prioritizing Sediment-prone areas at the sub-basin level of Tekeze watershed, Ethiopia

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