Study on the Relationship between Snowmelt Runoff for Different Latitudes and Vegetation Growth Based on an Improved SWAT Model in Xinjiang, China

• Main Authors: Yongchao Duan, Min Luo, Xiufeng Guo, Peng Cai, Fu Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: SWAT model; snowmelt; floods; accumulated temperature; NDVI
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1189

Rivers located in high altitude mountainous areas provide a large number of water resources and are also high-risk areas for seasonal snow melt floods. The accurate calculation and simulation of snow melting processes can provide reliable data for flood disaster prediction. In order to make the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model more suitable for high altitude mountainous areas, the effect of the daily accumulated temperature on the precipitation pattern and snow melting is fully considered. Applying the modified model to three mountain systems with different latitudes in Xinjiang can not only improve our understanding of the characteristics of snowmelt flooding but can also be used to test the applicability of the modified model. Through comparison, it was found that the simulation accuracy of the modified model of the flood peak value was improved by 56.19%. The correlation coefficient between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and snowmelt increased from 0.27 to 0.68. This study provides a new method for accurately understanding the process of snowmelt runoff in the mountainous area and provides new insights into the effects of snowmelt runoff on vegetation growth at different latitudes.