Watershed models for assessment of hydrological behavior of the catchments: A comparative study

Abstract

Hydrological parameters like overland flow, soil loss and nutrient losses can be studied by using different watershed models. However, all these models vary significantly in their analysis of parameters, input and output flexibility, scale accountability, processing ability, computational efficiency and capability of modeling the changes in catchments. This paper reviews different watershed models used for analyzing overland flow, soil loss and sediment yield with their shortcomings and strengths. These watershed models are described briefly along with their capabilities and shortcomings with their examples of applications, results and comparisons. An outcome of these discussions is presented in tabular format as a screening tool to allow the researchers and decision makers to choose the appropriate watershed model for the specific purpose.