Evaluation of Swat model performance to hydrologic cycle simulation in the Cong watershed, Viet Nam

Abstract

    In this study, performance of semi-distributed hydrologic model, namely Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was evaluated for hydrologic cycle simulation in the Cong Watershed.. The model parameters were calibrated and validated using meteorological data observed at five gauges and runoff data observed at Tan Cuong Station between 1961 and 1975. Quantitative statistical criteria such as Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and Coefficient of determination (R2) were used to evaluate the model performance on daily river flow simulations. As a result, the calibrated model performed well in hydrologic cycle simulations in the Cong Watershed, suggesting the applicability of the SWAT model to the target watershed. Subsequently, the calibrated SWAT model was utilized for further assessment of hydrologic cycle in the Cong Watershed under different conditions of 1966 - 1975 and 2001 - 2010 periods. For this purpose, the watershed's hydrologic cycle was assessed with regard to scenarios of climate variability, land use change, and reservoir operation.