APPLICATION OF AN EMPIRICAL INFILTRATION EQUATION IN THE SMAR CONCEPTUAL-MODEL

An empirical equation, which relates the infiltration rate to the actu al soil moisture content, is proposed and incorporated in the Soil Moi sture Accounting and Routing (SMAR) model to demonstrate one applicati on of that equation. A modified SMAR model (SMARY) is developed and te sted on four catchments with different climatic conditions. The result s show that the SMARY model performs better than the SMAR model in ter ms of R(2), mean square error and relative error. The modified model p rovides a more rational interpretation of the physical process of infi ltration and also provides a tool for determining the actual infiltrat ion rate under specific soil moisture conditions.