Using SWAT to model nitrate leached from soil zone

[Richard Beaumont]

Hi all, 

I am exploring using SWAT to model nitrate leached from the soil zone and was wondering if anyone has any experience of doing this (or could point me in the direction of some who does)? If anyone knows of any papers where it is discussed that would also be very useful.

Ideally what I want to do is input fertiliser applications, crop rotations and atmospheric deposition into the SWAT model and use this to generate times series of nitrate leaching through the soil profile based on climactic conditions. 

The nitrate leaching will then be input into a groundwater model in order to determine nitrate concentrations at a number of groundwater abstraction boreholes. 

The modelled area is fairly large - 5000 km2. Does anyone have experience of using SWAT over this kind of area (I understand that might be quite large for a SWAT model!)? I would be looking to use a very simple SWAT model - I should emphasise that I am only interested in the water and nitrates leached from the bottom of the soil zone - not stream flows etc.

Another piece of potentially useful info - we have people who are very experienced in building SWAT models to model in-stream metaldehyde concentrations, but they have limited experience in looking at the nitrate cycle.

Thanks for your help,

Rich Beaumont

[Matjaz Glavan]

Hi
we have done exactly the same on smaller area.

Here is link to published first part of the research. The manuscript on groundwater part and spatial representation of leaching is in preparation phase.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212613915000057

We calibrated the model to soil water content.

Best regards


Matjaž