Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica

Mean annual cycles of runoff, evapotranspiration, leaf area index (LAI) and potential vegetation were modelled for Mesoamerica using the SVAT model MAPSS with different climatology datasets. We calibrated and validated the model after building a comprehensive database of regional runoff, climate, so...

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Main Authors: Imbach, Pablo, Molina, L., Locatelli, Bruno, Roupsard, O., Ciais, Philippe, Corrales, P., Mahé, Gil
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20530
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author Imbach, Pablo
Molina, L.
Locatelli, Bruno
Roupsard, O.
Ciais, Philippe
Corrales, P.
Mahé, Gil
author_browse Ciais, Philippe
Corrales, P.
Imbach, Pablo
Locatelli, Bruno
Mahé, Gil
Molina, L.
Roupsard, O.
author_facet Imbach, Pablo
Molina, L.
Locatelli, Bruno
Roupsard, O.
Ciais, Philippe
Corrales, P.
Mahé, Gil
author_sort Imbach, Pablo
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Mean annual cycles of runoff, evapotranspiration, leaf area index (LAI) and potential vegetation were modelled for Mesoamerica using the SVAT model MAPSS with different climatology datasets. We calibrated and validated the model after building a comprehensive database of regional runoff, climate, soils and LAI. The performance of several gridded precipitation climatology datasets (CRU, FCLIM, WorldClim, TRMM, WindPPT and TCMF) was evaluated and FCLIM produced the most realistic runoff. Annual runoff was successfully predicted (R2=0.84) for a set of 138 catchments, with a low runoff bias (12%) that might originate from an underestimation of the precipitation over cloud forests. The residuals were larger in small catchments but remained homogeneous across elevation, precipitation, and land-use gradients. Assuming a uniform distribution of parameters around literature values, and using a Monte Carlo-type approach, we estimated an average model uncertainty of 42% of the annual runoff. The MAPSS model was most sensitive to the parameterization of stomatal conductance. Monthly runoff seasonality was mimicked "fairly" in 78% of the catchments. Predicted LAI was consistent with MODIS collection 5 and GLOBCARBON remotely sensed global products. The simulated evapotranspiration:runoff ratio increased exponentially for low precipitation areas, highlighting the importance of accurately modelling evapotranspiration below 1500 mm of annual rainfall with the help of SVAT models such as MAPSS. We propose the first high-resolution (1 km2 pixel) maps combining average long-term runoff, evapotranspiration, leaf area index and potential vegetation types for Mesoamerica.
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spelling CGSpace205302025-01-24T14:20:13Z Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica Imbach, Pablo Molina, L. Locatelli, Bruno Roupsard, O. Ciais, Philippe Corrales, P. Mahé, Gil climatology vegetation modelling agroclimatology Mean annual cycles of runoff, evapotranspiration, leaf area index (LAI) and potential vegetation were modelled for Mesoamerica using the SVAT model MAPSS with different climatology datasets. We calibrated and validated the model after building a comprehensive database of regional runoff, climate, soils and LAI. The performance of several gridded precipitation climatology datasets (CRU, FCLIM, WorldClim, TRMM, WindPPT and TCMF) was evaluated and FCLIM produced the most realistic runoff. Annual runoff was successfully predicted (R2=0.84) for a set of 138 catchments, with a low runoff bias (12%) that might originate from an underestimation of the precipitation over cloud forests. The residuals were larger in small catchments but remained homogeneous across elevation, precipitation, and land-use gradients. Assuming a uniform distribution of parameters around literature values, and using a Monte Carlo-type approach, we estimated an average model uncertainty of 42% of the annual runoff. The MAPSS model was most sensitive to the parameterization of stomatal conductance. Monthly runoff seasonality was mimicked "fairly" in 78% of the catchments. Predicted LAI was consistent with MODIS collection 5 and GLOBCARBON remotely sensed global products. The simulated evapotranspiration:runoff ratio increased exponentially for low precipitation areas, highlighting the importance of accurately modelling evapotranspiration below 1500 mm of annual rainfall with the help of SVAT models such as MAPSS. We propose the first high-resolution (1 km2 pixel) maps combining average long-term runoff, evapotranspiration, leaf area index and potential vegetation types for Mesoamerica. 2010 2012-06-04T09:13:27Z 2012-06-04T09:13:27Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20530 en Imbach, P., Molina, L., Locatelli, B., Roupsard, O., Ciais, P., Corrales, P., Mahé, G. 2010. Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica . Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 14 (10) :1801-1817. ISSN: 1027-5606.
spellingShingle climatology
vegetation
modelling
agroclimatology
Imbach, Pablo
Molina, L.
Locatelli, Bruno
Roupsard, O.
Ciais, Philippe
Corrales, P.
Mahé, Gil
Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica
title Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica
title_full Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica
title_fullStr Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica
title_full_unstemmed Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica
title_short Climatology-based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long-term runoff for Mesoamerica
title_sort climatology based regional modelling of potential vegetation and average annual long term runoff for mesoamerica
topic climatology
vegetation
modelling
agroclimatology
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20530
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