Abstract:
Water resources management decisions are made based on information from predictive models
that are capable of simulating the behavior of hydrological systems. More of these models are
in use today and it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose which model to use for
particular space and time scales as well as climate. In addition, as a result of climate change
there is a an increase in the degree of randomness in hydrological systems leading to reduced
predictability of these systems and thus different models are prone to perform differently under
varying conditions. Meta-analysis was conducted involving seven commonly applied models in
hydrological assessment to try and establish patterns that these models exhibit under varying
situations. This was achieved by looking at the homogeneity of the studies at the various space
and time scales. In addition to the meta-analysis, a second stage of analysis looking at the
variation in performance of the models with catchment characteristics such as climate, mean
altitude and catchment size was assessed. Results from the review study showed varied
performance with respect to the catchment characteristic and are important in aiding decision
making regarding hydrological model selection.
