Evaluation of Soil Water Index of distributed Tank Model in a small basin with field data

Abstract. The objective of the present study was to determine the spatial behaviour of the Soil Water Index (SWI) by applying a distributed version of the Tank Model (D-Tank Model) to the Araponga river basin (5.26 ha) in southern Brazil and to verify its reliability through the comparison to soil moisture estimated with the measured water-tension values and the water retention curve. The study area has a monitoring system for rainfall, discharge (5-min interval), and soil-water tension (10-min interval). The simulation results showed that the D-Tank Model has a reliable performance. The correlation between SWI and HAND was reasonable (r = 0.6) meanwhile that between SWI and the Topographic Wetness Index was high (r = 0.88). The comparison between the spatially distributed values of the SWI and soil moisture confirmed the high potential of the SWI derived from the D-Tank Model to be applied for predictions related to hydrological and environmental sciences.