National scale evaluation of the InVEST nutrient retention model in the United Kingdom

Abstract

A wide variety of tools aim to support decision making by modelling, mapping and quantifying ecosystem services. If decisions are to be properly informed, the accuracy and potential limitations of these tools must be well understood. However, dedicated studies evaluating ecosystem service models against empirical data are rare, especially over large areas. In this paper, we report on the national-scale assessment of a new ecosystem service model for nutrient delivery and retention, the InVEST Nutrient Delivery Ratio model. For 36 river catchments across the UK, we modelled total catchment export of phosphorus (P) and/or nitrogen (N) and compared model outputs to measurements derived from empirical water chemistry data. The model performed well in terms of relative magnitude of nutrient export among catchments (best Spearman's rank correlation for N and P, respectively: 0.81 and 0.88). However, there was wide variation among catchments in the accuracy of the model, and absolute values of nutrient exports frequently showed high percentage differences between modelled and empirically-derived exports (best median absolute percentage difference for N and P, respectively: ±64%, ±44%). The model also showed a high degree of sensitivity to nutrient loads and hydrologic routing input parameters and these sensitivities varied among catchments. These results suggest that the InVEST model can provide valuable information on nutrient fluxes to decision makers, especially in terms of relative differences among catchments. However, caution is needed if using the absolute modelled values for decision-making. Our study also suggests particular attention should be paid to researching input nutrient loadings and retentions, and the selection of appropriate input data resolutions and threshold flow accumulation values. Our results also highlight how availability of empirical data can improve model calibration and performance assessment and reinforce the need to include such data in ecosystem service modelling studies.

Correlations of Stormwater Runoff and Quality: Urban Pavement and Property Value by Land Use at the Parcel Level in a Small Sized American City

“…The InVEST model and its associated biophysical dataset were developed and calibrated by the Natural Capital Project in the Willamette Valley area within which Corvallis is located [17] and has been applied successfully in the other coastal areas in Western North America in previous studies [18,45,46]. This research uses the stormwater runoff yield and purification models and the biophysical data built in InVEST at 1 m × 1 m pixel resolution and combines the results at the parcel level.…”

An Approach to Evaluate Comprehensive Plan and Identify Priority Lands for Future Land Use Development to Conserve More Ecological Values

“…The datasets were utilized in the well-known ecosystem services modelling program InVEST developed by the Natural Capital Project [25] (Table 1). InVEST was developed and calibrated in Willamette River area within which the city of Corvallis is located [34], and has been applied well in the other coastal areas in Western North America in previous studies [35,36]. The modelling process in InVEST is referred to the InVEST User Guide [37].…”

Decision support tools for forest landscape restoration: Current status and future outlook

“…The probabilistic models generated by ARIES may be more appropriate for use when input data are scarce (Bagstad et al 2013). The deterministic models of InVEST have been widely evaluated at regional and national scales, and model predictions have been subjected to more rigorous testing (Song et al 2015;Salata et al 2017;Redhead et al 2018). …”