How does this model differ from the Chesapeake Bay HSPF (Hydrological Simulation Program – FORTRAN) Model?
Our model differs in two fundamentally different ways: • The spatial resolution is finer. Whereas in HSPF a weighted average of land use types and conditions is used to characterize each subwatershed, we divide the watershed into equal size grid cells which are smaller than the subwatersheds used in HSPF. Each cell has one habitat/land cover type assigned to it, based on the dominant land use within that cell. The habitat type is linked to a database of model parameters for such processes as potential plant growth rate. Each grid cell is linked to a set of information about soil type, elevation, etc. for that particular point on the landscape. This allows land use type and the associated parameters to be changed easily and better represents spatial distribution on the landscape, which is essential for many ecological processes and the economic linkages. • The model includes dynamics between plant and animal communities on land and nutrient and hydrologic processes. HSPF does not explic
