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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #385518
Research Project: Conservation Practice Impacts on Water Quality at Field and Watershed Scales

Location: National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory

Title: WEPPcloud: An online watershed-scale hydrologic modeling tool. Part I. Model description

Author
item LEW, ROGER - University Of Idaho
item DOBRE, MARIANA - University Of Idaho
item SRIVASTAVA, ANURAG - University Of Idaho
item BROOKS, ERIN - University Of Idaho
item ELLIOT, WILLIAM - University Of Idaho
item ROBICHAUD, PETER - Forest Service (FS)
item Flanagan, Dennis

Submitted to: Journal of Hydrology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/7/2022
Publication Date: 2/17/2022
Citation: Lew, R., Dobre, M., Srivastava, A., Brooks, E.S., Elliot, W.J., Robichaud, P.R., Flanagan, D.C. 2022. WEPPcloud: An online watershed-scale hydrologic modeling tool. Part I. Model description. Journal of Hydrology. 608. Article: 127603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127603.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127603

Interpretive Summary: Simulation of soil and water losses from forests is becoming increasing important, due to increasing incidences of wildfires brought about by drought and climate change. In this paper, details about a new web-based geospatial interface to the USDA Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model are described; the new software automates and simplifies requirements for users so that they can easily and rapidly simulate large, complex forested watershed systems. It accesses publicly available online databases for soils, climate, land use, and topography. Information for the model simulation inputs, processing of the geospatial data layers, running of the WEPP model, and processing and creation of the tabular and graphical outputs is all conducted on a computer servers at the University of Idaho Northwest Knowledge Network. In addition to forest applications, the interface can also be used to generate the necessary input and watershed structure files for WEPP model applications on croplands, urban, or other areas. This research impacts scientists, university faculty, graduate students, conservation agency personnel, and others with an interest in better assessing the effects of land management practices on runoff and sediment losses from forested watersheds or other areas. The new tool also provides an easy way to generate future projected climate scenarios, and use those in land management assessments.

Technical Abstract: A new online interface for the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model (WEPPcloud) was developed with a framework that allows the incorporation and development of several other models and applications to make hydrologic models more accessible to land managers and facilitate the decision-making process. All inputs to the model such as topography, soils, land use, and weather are automatically created from publicly available online international databases and converted into formats readable by the WEPP model. The WEPPcloud interface can be applied to undisturbed forest conditions, post-wildfire, and pre- and post-wildfire management scenarios such as forest thinning, prescribed fire, or post-wildfire mulching. Users only need a computer or large smart pad web browser with an internet connection to perform advanced hydrologic simulations. All the model runs are stored remotely on WEPPcloud, which can be accessed by the users at any given time. This model is presented in two parts: Part I: Model description and parameterization, and Part II: Model performance assessment and applications to forest management and wildfires.