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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.

Sec. Soil Processes

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1651136

This article is part of the Research TopicNitrate from Field to Stream: Characterization and MitigationView all 16 articles

Comparative Modeling of Nitrogen Losses in a Tile-Drained Watershed Using SWAT Model: Uncertainty and Calibration Considerations

Provisionally accepted
Junyu  QiJunyu Qi1*Robert  MaloneRobert Malone2Kang  LiangKang Liang3,4Kevin  ColeKevin Cole2Bryan  EmmettBryan Emmett2Daniel  MoriasiDaniel Moriasi2Muhammad  Rizwan ShahidMuhammad Rizwan Shahid5Michael  CastellanoMichael Castellano5
  • 1University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, United States
  • 2USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, United States
  • 3USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, United States
  • 4Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, United States
  • 5Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Ecohydrological models are critical for understanding coupled hydrologic– biogeochemical processes in tile-drained watersheds and for assessing management options. Despite recent advances in SWAT's hydrological and biogeochemical processes, there has been limited evaluation of both the original and new tile drainage and nitrogen (N) modules. We therefore applied a comparative modeling approach in a typical Midwestern tile-drained watershed, evaluating eight configurations that vary tile-drainage module (original/new), tile parameter treatment (calibrated/default), and N module (original/new) to assess performance for N-loss simulation. Using daily streamflow and nitrate (NO3⁻) load records from three monitoring sites, we conducted calibration, validation, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty assessment. Each configuration effectively reproduced daily and monthly dynamics, although high-flow and associated NO3⁻ load peaks were underestimated. We found that the new tile module generally improved streamflow simulations, particularly under tile parameter calibration conditions, while the new N module consistently enhanced NO3⁻ load simulations compared to the original module. Despite improvements in streamflow and NO3⁻ loads with the new tile and N modules, the additional processes in the new N module can magnify uncertainty in N-gas-flux estimates when calibration observations are scarce. We recommend applying the new N module in conjunction with additional measurements—such as soil moisture and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes—to constrain better N gas flux estimates beyond outlet NO3⁻ load data. If such observations are unavailable, careful calibration with reasonable estimates may still help constrain soil N cycling and improve overall N budget accuracy.

Keywords: Tile drainage, nitrate leaching, Nitrogen Gas Flux, SWAT, Century

Received: 20 Jun 2025; Accepted: 08 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Qi, Malone, Liang, Cole, Emmett, Moriasi, Shahid and Castellano. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Junyu Qi, junyuqi@umd.edu

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