Detailed Land Use Data Boosts Accuracy of Watershed Pollution Predictions
The study focused on improving the accuracy of predicting soil erosion and water quality in a watershed by using detailed land use and management data in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). By developing a new algorithm to incorporate more specific information on land use and management practices, the researchers found that the SWAT model set up with this new method had higher accuracy in predicting sediment loading and the impact of certain management practices on soil erosion. However, there was no significant improvement in predicting monthly water flow and nutrient loadings with the increased input resolution. Overall, the study showed that SWAT can still provide reliable simulations of water quantity and quality even with limited land use and management information, as long as the data represents the average conditions of the watershed.