SWAT-MOEA: SWAT Optimization Tool for Decision-Making in Agricultural Production Systems Among Competing Objectives

Abstract

Identifying agricultural production systems that balance economic viability, conservation of soil and water resources, and a clean environment requires significant time and financial investments. This paper presents the SWAT-MOEA, a user-friendly standalone tool, which couples the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) to determine Pareto optimal solutions for sustainable watershed management within a reasonable timeframe. The SWAT-MOEA is unique compared with existing tools in that it is publicly available for download along with a manual, it is user customizable, and can be used for studies of varying spatial scales from field to very large watersheds and daily to annual temporal scales. This integration enables simultaneous optimization of multiple objectives for existing SWAT projects. The tool identifies the placement of management strategies that achieve optimal trade-offs among competing objectives. Key SWAT-MOEA features include the ability to create and execute management practices directly through the SWAT-MOEA interface and to select objectives that reflect regional priorities. Results are stored in Excel for efficient display. SWAT-MOEA creates and stores Pareto graphs and geospatial maps of suggested solutions. A case study in the Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental watershed located in Oklahoma is provided to demonstrate its use. The SWAT-MOEA executable and user's manual are available at SWAT-MOEA.