Time-scale effects on runoff simulation and parameters sensitivity using SWAT model

作者：Liqun Yu, Xingwei Chen, Weifang Ruan, Huaxia Yao, Jiao Chen, Haijun Deng, Ying Chen, Meibing Liu · 发表于：Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102604 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies、Flood Risk Assessment and Management、Soil erosion and sediment transport

Study region Jianxi Watershed (JXW) and Shanmei Reservoir Watershed (SRW), located in southeastern coastal China. Study focus The SWAT model is a widely used hydrological simulation tool. However, the impact of different model development methods and the variation of sensitive parameters across time scales on simulation performance remains insufficiently studied. This study focused on the effects of time-scale on SWAT model runoff simulation performance by applying independent and unified development methods for model setup. Runoff simulations were conducted at annual, monthly, and daily time scales. The simulation performance differences between the two methods were compared, variations in sensitive parameters across time scales were analyzed, and their underlying mechanisms were explored to optimize SWAT model development and improve simulation reliability. New hydrological insights for the region (1) The simulation results of the SWAT model with the independent development method were all better than that of the unified development method. (2) The sensitive parameters of the models at the annual, monthly, and daily time scales exhibited significant differences. There were just 4 common parameters across the different time scales for the 2 regions, which were the surface runoff parameter CN2, the groundwater-related parameters ALPHA_BF and RCHRG_DP, and the evapotranspiration-related parameter ESCO. (3) The values of the four common sensitive parameters were varied with the...