Enhancing Daily Hydrological Modeling in a Subtropical Region with the Implementation of a Multimodel Approach

Hydrologic modeling can be a powerful tool for forecasting, water availability estimation, water resource management, and land use change assessment. Thus, a good choice of models is vital. The most general classification of models in terms of their application is distributed and lumped. Lumped models are generally considered to be more straightforward to apply and implement than distributed models. One strategy for capitalizing the ease of application of these models is to implement multimodel approaches. These approaches are based on the ensemble of several models to achieve better performance than the individual models. In this context, the objective of the present work is to evaluate whether a multimodel ensemble, built from several lumped models, can reach the performance of two distributed models applied in watersheds with highly streamflow variability. In this sense, the present paper utilizes a variety of approaches to address hydrologic modeling in basins of a subtropical region characterized by high flow variability. The implemented models span the spectrum from lumped to distributed, encompassing a broad array of conceptualizations, ultimately culminating in the implementation of a multimodel approach. The findings indicate that although lumped hydrological models do not consistently yield optimal results, the construction of a multimodel ensemble from these models exhibits performance comparable to distributed hydrological models.