Galli et al. (2026) Combined Agro‐Hydrological and Flood Modeling Highlights Seasonal and Crop‐Specific Flood Regulating Ecosystem Services

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Identification

• Journal: Water Resources Research
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-01
• Authors: Nikolas Galli, Marco Lompi, Enrica Caporali, Maria Cristina Rulli
• DOI: 10.1029/2025wr043100

Research Groups

• Department of Environmental Science, University of Siena (Italy)
• Institute for Geo‐Hydrological Research, National Research Council (CNR) (Italy)

Short Summary

This study presents a novel approach to assess the seasonality of crop-specific Flood Regulating Agro-Ecosystem Services (FLORAES) in small agricultural catchments. The results show that different crops generate distinct initial soil moisture conditions, affecting flood peak discharges.

Objective

• Investigate the role of specific crop types in influencing flood regulation in small agricultural catchments

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Upper part of the Ombrone Grossetano river basin (Italy)
• Temporal Scale: Daily to seasonal time scales

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • WATNEEDS: an agro-hydrological model for estimating daily soil moisture based on agricultural water demand
  • MOBIDIC: a fully distributed hydrological model for simulating flood hazards during extreme storm events
• Data sources: Satellite, observation, and reanalysis data

Main Results

• Different crops generate distinct initial soil moisture conditions under identical climatic conditions
• FLORAES contribute to flood mitigation at the end of the growing season of each crop (up to 20% of peak discharge)
• No contribution of FLORAES to flood mitigation in winter

Contributions

This study provides original insights into the role of specific crop types in influencing flood regulation in small agricultural catchments, highlighting the importance of considering crop-specific FLOod Regulating Agro-Ecosystem Services (FLORAES) in flood hazard assessments.

Funding

• This research was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) through the project "Hydrological modeling for sustainable water management" (PRIN 2015)
• The National Research Council (CNR) is also acknowledged for providing funding and support.

Citation

@article{Galli2026Combined,
  author = {Galli, Nikolas and Lompi, Marco and Caporali, Enrica and Rulli, Maria Cristina},
  title = {Combined Agro‐Hydrological and Flood Modeling Highlights Seasonal and Crop‐Specific Flood Regulating Ecosystem Services},
  journal = {Water Resources Research},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025wr043100},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr043100}
}