ARS | Publication request: SWAT-REMM Linked Approach for Estimating Water Quality Benefits of Riparian Forest Buffers in the Little River Watershed

Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 19, 2008
Publication Date: June 21, 2009
Citation: Cho, J., Lowrance, R.R., Bosch, D.D., Strickland, T.C., Vellidis, G., Lim, K. 2009. SWAT-REMM Linked Approach for Estimating Water Quality Benefits of Riparian Forest Buffers in the Little River Watershed. ASABE Annual International Meeting, June 21-24, 2009, Reno, Nevada.

Technical Abstract: Riparian forest buffers (RFBs) have considerable potential for improving water quality by filtering pollutants as they are transported from upland areas to streams. Insight into the benefits of the RFBs can be gained through appropriate computer simulation of the process. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been used to evaluate the impacts of agricultural management practices on water quality at a watershed scale. However, SWAT greatly simplifies the processes occurring within spatially distributed RFBs and the dynamic nutrient transformations which occur therein. The Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM) has been used to consider details of hydrologic and water quality processes within RFBs using physically-based parameters. However, REMM is a field-scale model which requires upland loadings as model input. As a result, a linked approach was considered to address the limitations of each model. The objective of this study is to evaluate the capability of a SWAT-REMM linked approach for evaluating water quality benefits of RFBs by considering site-specific characteristics (width and vegetation) and realistic spatial distribution of RFBs. The SWAT-REMM linked approach was applied to the Little River watershed located in Georgia. SWAT simulations of water and pollutant loadings from upland areas were used as the inputs to REMM. REMM was used to simulate water and pollutant movement through the RFBs. Finally, the outputs from REMM were used as inputs for the SWAT channel routing component.