Simulation of Water Balance and Forest Treatment Effects at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
The watershed model DHSVM was applied to the small watersheds WS1,2,3 in H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA), Oregon and tested for skill in simulating observed forest treatment effects on streamflow. These watersheds in the rain-snow transition zone underwent road and clearcut treatments during 1959-66 and subsequent natural regeneration. DHSVM was applied with 10 m and 1 hr resolution to 1958-98, most of the period of record. Water balance for old-growth WS2 indicated that evapotranspiration and streamflow were unlikely to be the only loss terms, and groundwater recharge was included to account for about 12% of precipitation; this term was assumed zero in previous studies. After limited calibration, overall efficiency in simulating hourly streamflow exceeded 0.7, and mean annual error was less than 10%. Model skill decreased at the margins, with overprediction of low flows and underprediction of high flows. However, statistical analyses of simulated and observed peakflows yielded similar characterizations of treatment effects. Primary simulation weaknesses were snowpack accumulation, snowmelt under rain-on-snow conditions, and production of quickflow. This challenging test of DHSVM moved the model closer to a practical tool for forest management.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 860400
- Report Number(s):
- PNWD-SA-5745; HYPRE3; TRN: US200524%%140
- Journal Information:
- Hydrological Processes, Vol. 19, Issue 16; ISSN 0885-6087
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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