FLATWOODS - A DISTRIBUTED HYDROLOGIC-SIMULATION MODEL FOR FLORIDA PINE FLATWOODS

Simulation models are especially useful in the study of forest hydrolo gy, which is more complex than many other hydrological systems. Most o f the existing hydrologic models developed for hilly regions are not r eadily applicable to flatwoods ecosystems characterized by flat topogr aphy, a high and dynamic groundwater table in poorly drained soils, an d heterogenous landscape of cypress wetlands and pine uplands. The pre sent FLATWOODS model was adapted from the COASTAL model to study the e ffects of silvicultural practices on hydrological processes in Florida flatwoods ecosystems. FLATWOODS is classified as a distributed, water shed-scale, physically based, integrated wetland-upland, dynamic model . The model consists of three separate submodels, simulating evapotran spiration, unsaturated soil water flow and the saturated groundwater-f low processes. The model has been calibrated and verified with field m easurements of groundwater table elevation and daily runoff collected from two different pine flatwoods experimental sites. Although the mod el under-predicts high flow rates, simulation results matched most of the observed data well and suggest the promise of the model for water management in flatwoods ecosystems.