Matlab Soil Hydrologic Model

The aim of this work was to develop, test, and apply a model suitable for the simulation of soil water content (SWC) pattern in Hyytiälä, Finland.

Integrating soil-atmosphere and plant systems provides a holistic understanding of biosphere-atmosphere interactions and feedback, emphasizing that the soil is the interface between the atmosphere and the plant system, playing a critical role in regulating water movement and storage (Silva & Lambers 2021). For that reason, in a detailed soil-atmosphere-plant systems analysis, parameters such as precipitation, snow,  evaporation, and transpiration are directly linked with infiltration, runoff, percolation, and soil structure.

The present work is focused on developing a soil-hydrology model mainly based on and dialoguing with Neilson's (1995) model.

Materials and Methods

 Snowpack/snowmelt extension

 Saturated/unsaturated soil scenarios

Soil layers

Sensitivity Analysis

For the sensitivity analysis, the validated year 2001 was considered, and it was adopted the RCP6 scenario setup of seasons (boreal winter and boreal summer), temperature, and precipitation ranges (minimum and maximum). These inputs were altered accordingly with each range value in the model and the first step was to analyze temperature and precipitation model sensitivity separately. In sequence, both altered inputs were analyzed together.

Result

Calibration

Validation

Overall, the model tends to underestimate the values of water in the soil. 

Additionally, it is responsive to changes in rainfall regime - in extreme precipitation events, as occurred in September 2021, the model diverges the most from the observed data. The same pattern happened in the calibration, where an extreme precipitation event also occurred in September 1999.

Result - Sensitivity Analysis

Temperature

Precipitation

IPCC RCP6 scenario

Discussion

Conclusion

Variables - their meanings and units

Parameters - meanings, values, and units

Equations