Articles | Volume 21, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4449-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4449-2017
Research article
 | 
07 Sep 2017
Research article |  | 07 Sep 2017

An improved SWAT vegetation growth module and its evaluation for four tropical ecosystems

Tadesse Alemayehu, Ann van Griensven, Befekadu Taddesse Woldegiorgis, and Willy Bauwens

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Short summary
The goal of this paper is to improve the vegetation growth modelling in SWAT for tropical ecosystems. Therefore, we propose a straightforward but robust soil moisture index (SMI) – a quotient of rainfall (P) and reference evapotranspiration (ETr) – to dynamically initiate a new growth cycle within a predefined period. Our results for the Mara Basin (Kenya/Tanzania) show that the simulated LAI corresponds well with the MODIS LAI for for evergreen forest, savanna grassland and shrubland.
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