Development of a land surface model including human impact modules for Hokkaido area

Abstract

 Water is a fundamental resource for human sustenance. However, the amount of water that is easily accessible is limited and therefore proper management of water resources is very important to fulfill the increasing demand and hence to maintain the standard of living for the escalating population. Recent studies have shown that human activities such as irrigation and reservoir operation have significantly affected the natural flow systems, and therefore accounting these human factors in the model is critically important to simulated land surface hydrologic processes realistically. Recently an integrated model “MATSIRO with human impacts” was developed by incorporating the human factors into the MATSIRO model. In this study, the global model was applied for Japan with a particular focus on Hokkaido region because Hokkaido is the largest agricultural region in Japan and agriculture accounts for the largest portion of human water use. Using the model, we show how the simulated hydrologic variables such as evapotranspiration and soil temperature are affected due to irrigation.