Figure 5.

A manager’s guide to modeling GIW connectivity. (a) Trade-offs between model fidelity (the degree to which a model faithfully represents wetland or watershed attributes and processes) and resources are required for model selection. This hypothesized curve is modified by how connectivity is represented in the model, from spatially lumped (no spatial detail, providing implicit connectivity information) to fully distributed (represents each point within the watershed, providing explicit connectivity information). (b) Changes in model complexity (the number of model factors and fluxes, and the degree to which wetland and watershed physical processes are represented) occur along a process-based (simulated GIW connectivity) to empirically based (statistically or conceptually represented GIW connectivity) model gradient.