LUCST

Land Use Change SWAT+ Toolkit

LUCST is an interface for managing SWAT+ input and output files to aid in implementing, and visualizing the impact of land use changes on catchment hydrology in the SWATPlus model (rev60.5.2_64rel.exe)

Video intro here

Software Requirements

• Windows 10

• NPM >8.1.2

• NodeJS >14.15.4

• Python 3.9.7

Basic Usage

Full help documentation available in the documentation folder

Input Data

As its input data, the toolkit requires:

• A properly calibrated SWAT+ catchment model
• The catchments associated shape files produced in QSWAT+

If you are not familiar with SWAT+ please visit the links bellow:

• SWAT+ download
• Introduction to SWAT+
• A useful SWAT+ calibration tool is SWAT+ Toolbox: download and documentation

IMPORTANT: The accuracy of the toolkit’s outputs are fully reliant on the accuracy of the original input SWAT+ model. To ensure an acceptable accuracy only properly calibrated catchments with an acceptable NSE (Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency) of 0.5 and above should be studied using the toolkit.

Catchment Preperation

SWAT+ modelled catchment prep must be done correctly before any LULC change investigation:

• Copy the SWAT+ catchment directory and SWAT+ model exe files to the LUCST directory
• Zip catchment shape files
• Edit model print options and simulation runtime

Install Dependencies

In CMD run npm install

Set Up Servers

In separate CMD windows run:

• npm run swat-server (back end)
• npm run swat (front end)

Open Toolkit

In the browser navigate to the url: http://localhost:8001/?dev=1

Relevant Citation

Rigby, A.M.F., Butcher, P.W., Ritsos, P.D. and Patil, S.D., 2022. LUCST: A novel toolkit for Land Use Land Cover change assessment in SWAT+ to support flood management decisions. Environmental Modelling & Software, p.105469, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105469.