Decision support for diffuse pollution management

Panagopoulos, Y; Makropoulos, C; Mimikou, M

dc.contributor.author	Panagopoulos, Y	en
dc.contributor.author	Makropoulos, C	en
dc.contributor.author	Mimikou, M	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T02:08:35Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T02:08:35Z
dc.date.issued	2012	en
dc.identifier.issn	13648152	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/29681
dc.subject	Decision support	en
dc.subject	Diffuse pollution	en
dc.subject	Genetic algorithms	en
dc.subject	Multi-objective optimisation	en
dc.subject	SWAT	en
dc.subject	Trade-off	en
dc.subject.other	Agricultural land	en
dc.subject.other	Annual cost	en
dc.subject.other	Application management	en
dc.subject.other	Best management practices	en
dc.subject.other	Catchment scale	en
dc.subject.other	Decision support tools	en
dc.subject.other	Decision supports	en
dc.subject.other	Diffuse pollution	en
dc.subject.other	Economic functions	en
dc.subject.other	Environmental legislations	en
dc.subject.other	Environmental objectives	en
dc.subject.other	Environmental targets	en
dc.subject.other	Hydrologic response units	en
dc.subject.other	Non-point source pollution	en
dc.subject.other	Optimal combination	en
dc.subject.other	Optimal locations	en
dc.subject.other	Optimisations	en
dc.subject.other	Soil and Water assessment tools	en
dc.subject.other	SWAT	en
dc.subject.other	Total phosphorus	en
dc.subject.other	Trade-off	en
dc.subject.other	Trade-off curves	en
dc.subject.other	Catchments	en
dc.subject.other	Commerce	en
dc.subject.other	Costs	en
dc.subject.other	Crops	en
dc.subject.other	Decision support systems	en
dc.subject.other	Economic and social effects	en
dc.subject.other	Genetic algorithms	en
dc.subject.other	Geologic models	en
dc.subject.other	Location	en
dc.subject.other	Multiobjective optimization	en
dc.subject.other	Phosphorus	en
dc.subject.other	Pollution	en
dc.subject.other	Runoff	en
dc.subject.other	Decision making	en
dc.subject.other	alfalfa	en
dc.subject.other	best management practice	en
dc.subject.other	catchment	en
dc.subject.other	database	en
dc.subject.other	decision support system	en
dc.subject.other	empirical analysis	en
dc.subject.other	environmental legislation	en
dc.subject.other	genetic algorithm	en
dc.subject.other	maize	en
dc.subject.other	nonpoint source pollution	en
dc.subject.other	optimization	en
dc.subject.other	pasture	en
dc.subject.other	surface water	en
dc.subject.other	trade-off	en
dc.subject.other	water pollution	en
dc.subject.other	Greece	en
dc.subject.other	Medicago sativa	en
dc.subject.other	Zea mays	en
dc.title	Decision support for diffuse pollution management	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.identifier.primary	10.1016/j.envsoft.2011.11.006	en
heal.identifier.secondary	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2011.11.006	en
heal.publicationDate	2012	en
heal.abstract	The effort to manage diffuse pollution at the catchment scale is an ongoing challenge that needs to take into account trade-offs between environmental and economic objectives. Best Management Practices (BMPs) are gaining ground as a means to address the problem, but their application (and impact) is highly dependant on the characteristics of the crops and of the land in which they are to be applied. In this paper, we demonstrate a new methodology and associated decision support tool that suggests the optimal location for placing BMPs to minimise diffuse surface water pollution at the catchment scale, by determining the trade-off among economic and multiple environmental objectives. The decision support tool consists of a non-point source (NPS) pollution estimator, the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model, a genetic algorithm (GA), which serves as the optimisation engine for the selection and placement of BMPs across the agricultural land of the catchment, and of an empirical economic function for the estimation of the mean annual cost of BMP implementation. In the proposed decision support tool, SWAT was run a number of times equal to the number of tested BMPs, to predict nitrates nitrogen (N-NO3) and total phosphorus (TP) losses from all the agricultural Hydrologic Response Units (HRUs) and possible BMPs implemented on them. The results were then saved in a database which was subsequently used for the optimisation process. Fifty different BMPs, including sole or combined changes in livestock, crop, soiland nutrient application management in alfalfa, corn and pastureland fields, were evaluated in the reported application of the tool in a catchment in Greece, by solving a three-objective optimisation process (cost, TP and N-NO3). The relevant two-dimensional trade-off curves of cost-TP, cost-N-NO3 and N-NO3-TP are presented and discussed. The strictest environmental target, expressed as a 45% reduction of TP at the catchment outlet, which also resulted in a 25% reduction of the annual N-NO3 yield was met at an affordable annual cost of 25 €/person by establishing an optimal combination of BMPs. The methodology could be used to assist in a more cost-effective implementation of environmental legislation. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.	en
heal.journalName	Environmental Modelling and Software	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1016/j.envsoft.2011.11.006	en
dc.identifier.volume	30	en
dc.identifier.spage	57	en
dc.identifier.epage	70	en