Hydrology and Earth System Sciences www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net 1027-5606 1607-7938 12 5 2008 10.5194/hess-12-1175-2008 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/12/1175/2008/ http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/12/1175/2008/hess-12-1175-2008.html http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/12/1175/2008/hess-12-1175-2008.pdf 1175 1187 2008-09-10 A conceptual dynamic vegetation-soil model for arid and semiarid zones D. I. Quevedo diaquete@doctor.upv.es F. Francés Institute for Water Engineering and Environment, Polytechnical University of Valencia, Spain Plant ecosystems in arid and semiarid climates show high complexity, since they depend on water availability to carry out their vital processes. In these climates, water stress is the main factor controlling vegetation development and its dynamic evolution. The available water-soil content results from the water balance in the system, where the key issues are the soil, the vegetation and the atmosphere. However, it is the vegetation, which modulates, to a great extent, the water fluxes and the feedback mechanisms between soil and atmosphere. Thus, soil moisture content is most relevant for plant growth maintenance and final water balance assessment. A conceptual dynamic vegetation-soil model (called HORAS) for arid and semi-arid zones has been developed. This conceptual model, based on a series of connected tanks, represents in a way suitable for a Mediterranean climate, the vegetation response to soil moisture fluctuations and the actual leaf biomass influence on soil water availability and evapotranspiration. Two tanks were considered using at each of them the water balance and the appropriate dynamic equation for all considered fluxes. The first one corresponds to the interception process, whereas the second one models the evolution of moisture by the upper soil. The model parameters were based on soil and vegetation properties, but reduced their numbers. 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