In the field of the water resources, hydrologic models have been used to assess water quality performance of complex watersheds and river basins. Hydrologic models can provide essential information for making decision...In the field of the water resources, hydrologic models have been used to assess water quality performance of complex watersheds and river basins. Hydrologic models can provide essential information for making decisions on sustainable management system of water resources within watersheds. The main objective of this study was to validate the performance of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool （SWAT） and the feasibility of using this model as a simulator of runoff at a catchment scale in semi-arid area in Northwestern Tunisia. Calibration and validation of the model output were performed by comparing predicted runoff with corresponding measurements from the Sarrath outlet for the periods 1990-1995 for calibration and 2000-2005 for validation. The time series for the years 1996-1999 showed discrepancies between the measured rainfall and the observed runoff indicating errors due to either the observations or to a dysfunction in the equipments. Sensitivity analysis shows that sensitive parameters for the simulation of discharge include curve number, soil evaporation compensation factor, depth of water in shallow aquifer and slope of subbasin. Statistical comparisons between monthly simulated results and observed data for the calibration period gave a reasonable agreement with a coefficient of determination （R2） greater than 0.75 and Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient （NSE） equal to 0.72. These values were respectively 0.70 and 0.64 for validation period. Overall, the SWAT model has the capability to predict runoff within a complex semi-arid catchment.展开更多
Freshwater habitats and organisms are among the most threatened on Earth, and freshwater ecosystems have been subject to large biodiversity losses. We developed a Climate Change Sensitivity （CCS） indicator based on ...Freshwater habitats and organisms are among the most threatened on Earth, and freshwater ecosystems have been subject to large biodiversity losses. We developed a Climate Change Sensitivity （CCS） indicator based on trait information for a selection of stream- and lake-dwelling Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa. We calculated the CCS scores based on ten species traits identified as sensitive to global climate change. We then assessed climate change sensitivity between the six main ecoregions of Sweden as well as the three Swedish regions based on lilies. This was done using biological data from 1,382 stream and lake sites where we compared large-scale （ecoregional） patterns in climate change sensitivity with potential future exposure of these ecosystems to increased temperatures using ensemble-modelled future changes in air temperature. Current （1961-1990） measured temperature and ensemble-modelled future （2100） temperature showed an increase from the northernmost towards the southern ecoregions, whereas the predicted temperature change increased from south to north. The CCS indicator scores were highest in the two northernmost boreal ecoregions where we also can expect the largest global climate change-induced increase in temperature, indicating an unfortunate congruence of exposure and sensitivity to climate change. These results are of vital importance when planning and implementing management and conservation strategies in freshwater ecosystems, e.g., to mitigate increased temperatures using riparian buffer strips. We conclude that traits information on taxa specialization, e.g., in terms of feeding specialism or taxa having a preference for high altitudes as well as sensitivity to changes in temperature are important when assessing the risk from future global climate change to freshwater ecosystems [Current Zoology 60 （2）： 221-232, 2014].展开更多
文摘In the field of the water resources, hydrologic models have been used to assess water quality performance of complex watersheds and river basins. Hydrologic models can provide essential information for making decisions on sustainable management system of water resources within watersheds. The main objective of this study was to validate the performance of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool （SWAT） and the feasibility of using this model as a simulator of runoff at a catchment scale in semi-arid area in Northwestern Tunisia. Calibration and validation of the model output were performed by comparing predicted runoff with corresponding measurements from the Sarrath outlet for the periods 1990-1995 for calibration and 2000-2005 for validation. The time series for the years 1996-1999 showed discrepancies between the measured rainfall and the observed runoff indicating errors due to either the observations or to a dysfunction in the equipments. Sensitivity analysis shows that sensitive parameters for the simulation of discharge include curve number, soil evaporation compensation factor, depth of water in shallow aquifer and slope of subbasin. Statistical comparisons between monthly simulated results and observed data for the calibration period gave a reasonable agreement with a coefficient of determination （R2） greater than 0.75 and Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient （NSE） equal to 0.72. These values were respectively 0.70 and 0.64 for validation period. Overall, the SWAT model has the capability to predict runoff within a complex semi-arid catchment.
文摘Freshwater habitats and organisms are among the most threatened on Earth, and freshwater ecosystems have been subject to large biodiversity losses. We developed a Climate Change Sensitivity （CCS） indicator based on trait information for a selection of stream- and lake-dwelling Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa. We calculated the CCS scores based on ten species traits identified as sensitive to global climate change. We then assessed climate change sensitivity between the six main ecoregions of Sweden as well as the three Swedish regions based on lilies. This was done using biological data from 1,382 stream and lake sites where we compared large-scale （ecoregional） patterns in climate change sensitivity with potential future exposure of these ecosystems to increased temperatures using ensemble-modelled future changes in air temperature. Current （1961-1990） measured temperature and ensemble-modelled future （2100） temperature showed an increase from the northernmost towards the southern ecoregions, whereas the predicted temperature change increased from south to north. The CCS indicator scores were highest in the two northernmost boreal ecoregions where we also can expect the largest global climate change-induced increase in temperature, indicating an unfortunate congruence of exposure and sensitivity to climate change. These results are of vital importance when planning and implementing management and conservation strategies in freshwater ecosystems, e.g., to mitigate increased temperatures using riparian buffer strips. We conclude that traits information on taxa specialization, e.g., in terms of feeding specialism or taxa having a preference for high altitudes as well as sensitivity to changes in temperature are important when assessing the risk from future global climate change to freshwater ecosystems [Current Zoology 60 （2）： 221-232, 2014].
