COMPARING MODELED AND MEASURED EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ESTIMATIONS IN THE SANTA MARIA RIVER WATERSHED
Topics: Agricultural Geography
, Water Resources and Hydrology
, Climatology and Meteorology
Keywords: Evapotranspiration, water use, SWAT, SWAT+, Panama, Santa Maria River
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 03:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 05:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 39
Authors:
Conrado Alberto De Leon, RAMSAR Regional Center for the Western Hemisphere (CREHO), Clayton, Panama, Panamá
Karoline Castillo, Universidad de Panama, Centro Regional Universitario de Chiriquí, David, Panama
Andrea Santamaria, 3Universidad Tecnológica de Panama, Campus Victor Levi Sasso, Panama City
Reveca Abrego, 4Universidad de Panama, Centro Regional Universitario de Bocas del
Yvanna Serra, Universidad Tecnológica de Panama, Campus Victor Levi Sasso, Panama City.
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Abstract
The Santa María River watershed (SMRW) is considered a priority watershed for its high economic and environmental importance in Panama. Agricultural production in this region has faced various challenges in the past years, many of these concerning water availability and distribution. Although water resources are considered to be sufficient at the watershed level, the water availability and precipitation patterns at field level present a notable spatial and temporal variability. Moreover, specific water requirements on agricultural farms are unknown as well as water allocation initiatives. Irrigation systems are not commonly used in agricultural lands in this region, but its application is considered to potentially optimize agricultural production.
Evapotranspiration is a key parameter for evaluating water needs at watershed and field scale. In this research, evapotranspiration estimates from modeled and measured data were compared in different subbasins of the SMRW. Evapotranspiration (ET) was estimated using the Penman-Monteith method using measured data from weather stations and modeled estimations using the The Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+). Estimations results showed a low correlation between modeled and measured ET values with a low coefficient of determination (R2= 0.36). Modeled estimations underestimated ET values as compared with field estimations. More accurate and a denser database for input climatic data is needed to create a more robust model that can be used to estimate actual and crop evapotranspiration in the SMRW. This could be a valuable tool to improve water allocation and evaluating the potential use of irrigation systems in this important watershed in Panama.
COMPARING MODELED AND MEASURED EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ESTIMATIONS IN THE SANTA MARIA RIVER WATERSHED
Category
Virtual Paper Abstract
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