Evaluations of water balance models on a mixed conifer watershed

Abstract

Three water balance and yield models of differing degrees of complexity were evaluated using data from a mixed conifer watershed in east‐central Arizona. Statistical tests on simulated monthly flow volumes are provided with a comparison of 5‐year mean annual estimates of evapotranspiration and streamflow. One model accounts for 87% of the variation in monthly flow but produces the most bias in simulated monthly runoff volume. Another accounts for 78% of the monthly streamflow variation and produces the least bias in monthly streamflow volume. Statistics for the third model generally lie between those of the other two models.