An overview of the self-organizing map algorithm, on which the papers in this issue are based, is presented in this article.

The Self-Organizing Map

The storm water management model (SWMM) is a widely used tool for urban drainage design and planning. Hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings have been written describing applications of SWMM. This review focuses on collecting information on model performance with respect to calibration and validation in the peer-reviewed literature. The major developmental history and applications of the model are also presented. The results provide utility to others looking for a quick reference to gauge the integrity of their own unique SWMM application. A gap analysis assesses the model's ability to perform water-quality simulations considering green infrastructure (GI)/low impact development (LID) designs and effectiveness. It is concluded that the level of detail underlying the conceptual model of SWMM versus its overall computational parsimony is well balanced-making it an adequate model for large and medium-scale hydrologic applications. However, embedding a new mechanistic algorithm or providing user guidance for coupling with other models will be necessary to realistically simulate diffuse pollutant sources, their fate and transport, and the effectiveness of GI/LID implementation scenarios.

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Storm Water Management Model: Performance Review and Gap Analysis.

Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of the APSIM-wheat model: interactions between cultivar, environmental, and management parameters.

This paper reviews how remotely sensed data have been used to understand the impact of urbanization on global environmental change. We describe how these studies can support the policy and science communities' increasing need for detailed and up-to-date information on the multiple dimensions of cities, including their social, biological, physical, and infrastructural characteristics. Because the interactions between urban and surrounding areas are complex, a synoptic and spatial view offered from remote sensing is integral to measuring, modeling, and understanding these relationships. Here we focus on

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Supporting Global Environmental Change Research: A Review of Trends and Knowledge Gaps in Urban Remote Sensing

Since the implementation of market oriented economic reform in 1978, China has been on the track of rapid urbanization. The unprecedented urbanization in China has resulted in substantial cultivated land loss and rapid expansion of urban areas. The cultivated land loss due to urbanization not only threatens food security in China, but has also led to ecological system degradation to which close attention should be paid. Therefore, we examined the effects of the conversion from cultivated to urban areas on the ecosystem service in the North China Plain on the basis of a net primary productivity based ecosystem service model (NESM) and a buffer comparison method. Cultivated land loss due to urbanization in the North China Plain led to a total loss of ecosystem service value of 34.66% during the period 1988–2008. Urban expansion significantly decreased the ecosystem service function of water conservation (–124.03%), nutrient cycling (–31.91%), gas regulation (−7.18%), and organic production (–7.18%), while it improved the soil conservation function (2.40%). Land use change accounted for 57.40% of the changes in ecosystem service and had a major influence on the changes in nutrient cycling and water conservation. However, climate change mainly determined the changes in gas regulation, organic production, and soil conservation.

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Effects of Urbanization-Induced Cultivated Land Loss on Ecosystem Services in the North China Plain

Methods to estimate irrigated reference crop evapotranspiration – a review

An empirical relationship is developed for the nonlinear root water uptake parameter in the O-R moisture uptake model from easily measurable plant physiological parameters, such as maximum daily transpiration, maximum root depth, and time to attain the maximum transpiration. A nondimensional parameter, termed specific transpiration, that involves the plant physiological parameters is used in this empirical relationship. Data for determining this relationship are obtained by minimizing the deviations between the field observed moisture depletions of 28 crops reported in the literature, and the Richards equation–based numerically simulated soil moisture depletions combined with the moisture uptake model accounting for root water uptake. In addition to cross-validation, field experiments on three Indian crops (maize, Indian mustard, and wheat) are conducted to further validate the proposed empirical relationship. Comparisons of model predictions with field observations of soil moisture profiles and m...

Model for Nonlinear Root Water Uptake Parameter

Soil-water movement due to root-water uptake, is a key process for plant growth and transport of water in the soil plant system. There are different root-water uptake models to determine the extrac...

Evaluation of a Nonlinear Root-Water Uptake Model

Crop water stress index for scheduling irrigation of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) based on water use efficiency considerations

Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a proven treatment step in a multi-barrier method of drinking-water supply at many sites. RBF wells induce a large amount of river water to infiltrate the river base and travel towards the wells, giving the opportunity for mixing of infiltrated surface water and groundwater. Assessment of raw water quality plays an important role in planning and operating a RBF well field. In this context, the determination of the catchment area (and land uses within the catchment) and the ratio of bank filtrate (BF) to raw groundwater (GW) are two prior steps. Transient model simulations were performed in order to study the hydraulic conditions at the RBF well field at Grind near Dusseldorf, Germany. The BF/GW ratio was determined to be 75/25. The flood events in winter, in particular, showed the BF/GW ratio to have high variation. Transient path lines in the well field were used for delineation of the catchment area.

Vijay Shankar

Papers

Methods to estimate irrigated reference crop evapotranspiration – a review

Model for Nonlinear Root Water Uptake Parameter

Evaluation of a Nonlinear Root-Water Uptake Model

Crop water stress index for scheduling irrigation of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) based on water use efficiency considerations

Transient three-dimensional modeling of riverbank filtration at Grind well field, Germany