A Comparative Assessment of Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Models for Annual Water Yield Estimation: A Case Study in the Croatan National Forest

Mahdis Fallahi; Stacy A. C. Nelson; Solomon Beyene; Peter V. Caldwell; Joseph P. Roise

doi:10.3390/environments12030089

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A Comparative Assessment of Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Models for Annual Water Yield Estimation: A Case Study in the Croatan National Forest

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Mahdis Fallahi, Stacy A. C. Nelson, Solomon Beyene, Peter V. Caldwell, Joseph P. Roise

Year:

2025

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Southern Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12030089

Source:

Environments

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Abstract

This study conducts a comparison of two ecosystem service models: the Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST). It focuses on each model’s capability to estimate annual water yield within the Croatan National Forest (CNF). The Croatan Forest, characterized as a coastal ecosystem with high biodiversity and unique water resource management challenges, provides an opportune setting to examine and compare the accuracy and efficiency of these models in predicting water yield. Utilizing field data and remote sensing, we investigated the capabilities of both models to estimate water yield. The results indicate that both models can serve as useful tools for water resource management in coastal ecosystems, yet there are differences in their accuracy and sensitivity to environmental factors. This study is the first to compare the two ecosystem models, theWaSSI and InVEST, within a coastal forest setting for the calculation of water yield.

Keywords

water yield estimation, coastal national forest ecosystem, WaSSI model, InVEST model, ecosystem service

Citation

Fallahi, Mahdis; Nelson, Stacy A. C.; Beyene, Solomon; Caldwell, Peter V.; Roise, Joseph P. 2025. A Comparative Assessment of Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Models for Annual Water Yield Estimation: A Case Study in the Croatan National Forest. Environments. 12(3): 89-. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12030089.