Step by Step Guide June
IV. RIOS Benefits Estimator
2. Model Inputs
When the RIOS Benefits Estimator loads, check the boxes next to the InVEST models that should be run (Run Sediment Analysis and/or Run Nutrient Analysis) and fill in the requested model data. Following is a brief description of each input. Detailed explanations may be found in the InVEST Model Data Requirements and Details and Sources for Required Data
sections of this document, as well as the InVEST User Guide.
• Point at the root RIOS workspace: Folder where Portfolio Advisor and Portfolio Translator output for this analysis is located.
• Results Suffix from IPA: (Optional) Suffix that was specified in the Portfolio Advisor run. If none was specified, leave blank.
• DEM raster: GIS raster layer containing Digital Elevation Model data (in meters.) • Watersheds shapefile: Shapefile containing polygons defining the watershed(s)
95 • Threshold Flow Accumulation: Integer value specifying how many DEM pixels
must flow into a given pixel on the landscape for the given pixel to be considered part of the stream network. Used to define streams.
• Water Purification Threshold Table: Table in .csv format containing information about allowed levels of nutrient at each watershed outlet point.
If the Run Sediment Analysis box is checked, the following must also be provided: • Sediment Valuation table: Table in .csv format containing economic information
for each watershed outlet point, needed to run the monetary valuation portion of the InVEST Sediment model.
• Slope Threshold: Integer value specifying the slope at which erosion stabilization practices begin to be used by farmers.
• Erosivity raster: GIS raster containing numerical data for rainfall erosivity, as used by the USLE equation (in MJ*mm*(ha*h*yr)-1)
• Erodibility raster: GIS raster containing numerical data for soil erodibility, as used by the USLE equation (in T.ha.h. (ha.MJ.mm)-1)
If the Run Nutrient Analysis box is checked, the following must also be provided:
• Nutrient Valuation table: Table in .csv format containing economic information for each watershed outlet point, needed to run the monetary valuation portion of the InVEST Nutrient model.
• Precipitation: GIS raster containing numerical data for annual average precipitation (in mm.)
• Potential Evapotranspiration: GIS raster containing numerical data for annual average potential evapotranspiration (in mm.)
• Soil Depth: GIS raster containing numerical data for maximum soil depth (in mm.) • Plant Available Water Fraction: GIS raster containing numerical data for the
amount of water in the soil that is available for plants to use (unitless fraction.) • Seasonality Constant: Integer value (1-10) characterizing the seasonality of
precipitation in the watershed.
If there is a problem with the entered input data, a red X will appear in place of the green checks to the left of the input, and if clicked, information is provided about what is wrong. Following is an example of the Benefits Estimator interface with all model values filled in:
96
3. Results
Click the Run button. After a successful Benefits Estimator run, an HTML report will be opened in a web browser and a Windows explorer window will open to the Workspace location. The HTML report looks like this (showing only partial results):
97 If the Sediment model has been run, the output from this model will be shown. The first table (Returns after 10 years in the example) provides output from the Sediment model representing the total projected return on investment in terms of improvements in erosion control, and associated monetary value. It is also a compilation of the next three tables that follow, containing totals across the whole watershed of interest. The three rows in this table (as well as the 3 tables that follow) are based on the following scenarios:
• Base: Results from running the Sediment model on the base (current) landscape. • Transitioned: Results from running the Sediment model on the IPA-selected portfolio
containing Restoration and Agricultural activities.
• Unprotected: Results from running the Sediment model on the IPA-selected Protection portfolio where unprotected native landcover has transitioned to the user-selected likely avoided transition lulc.
Columns present biophysical and economic outputs from the InVEST Sediment model: • Total Sed Export (tons): The amount of sediment that runs off of the landscape and
ends up in the stream, in metric tons.
• Retention (dredging): The amount of sediment that is retained by the landscape (keeping it from entering the stream), adjusted by the user-supplied sediment threshold for dredging.
98 • Retention (water quality): The amount of sediment that is retained by the landscape
(keeping it from entering the stream), adjusted by the user-supplied sediment threshold for water quality.
• Value of Sediment Retention (dredging): The monetary value of Retention
(dredging), based on avoided dredging costs.
• Value of Sediment Retention (water quality): The monetary value of Retention
(water quality), based on avoided water treatment costs.
• shapefile_uri: Shapefile generated by the Benefits Estimator, where each sub-
watershed is listed, along with a collection of model-generated information for each. See
watershed_outputs.shp below for a listing of the columns.
The three tables that follow provide more detailed output for the three scenarios (Base, Transitioned and Unprotected), giving totals per sub-watershed instead of per watershed as in the first table. Columns are the same as for the first table, with the addition of Watershed
ID, which lists the unique IDs for each sub-watershed within the main watershed of interest.
If the Nutrient model has been run, its output will be similar to that of Sediment, with separate tables for Returns, Base, Transitioned and Unprotected. Columns are also similar and present biophysical and economic outputs from the InVEST Nutrient model: • Nitrogen Export: The amount of nutrient that runs off of the landscape and ends up in
the stream, in kilograms.
• Nutrient Retention (mass): The amount of nutrient that is retained by the landscape, so does not make it into the stream, in kilograms.
• Nutrient Retention (value): The monetary value of Nutrient Retention (mass), based on avoided water treatment costs.
• shapefile_uri: Shapefile generated by the Benefits Estimator, where each sub-
watershed is listed, along with a collection of model-generated information for each. See
watershed_outputs.shp below for a listing of the columns.
Results from the Investment Portfolio Advisor are also included at the bottom of the HTML report for reference.
Output files from the Benefits Estimator are found in the folder
3_benefits_estimator_workspace. Inside this folder are folders for each model run
99 was displayed in the web browser (benefits_estimator_report.html.) Within the model folders are separate output folders for each of the three scenarios (base, transitioned,
unprotected.)
Within the nutrient_workspaces scenario folders are the following folders and files. See the InVEST Nutrient model Interpreting Results section for more information.
• intermediate: During the running of the model, several intermediate files are
generated in this folder, which are not generally used for final decision-making but may be of interest to someone wanting to learn more about the details of the models. Most of these will not be detailed here, except for stream.tif, which is a GIS raster showing the stream network generated by the model, based on the user-defined threshold flow accumulation. For model results to most closely represent the functioning of the watershed being analyzed, it is important that this stream network closely match the actual stream network.
• output: Folder containing the primary output files of interest, as follows:
o n_export.tif: GIS raster showing the amount of nutrient that runs off of each pixel on the landscape and ends up in the stream (is not retained by intervening landscape.) This result is given per pixel on the landscape, and it is provided for reference only, not to be used directly for decision-making, as the InVEST model output is intended to be used at the sub-watershed scale only. In
kilograms/year.
o watershed_outputs.shp: Shapefile containing a variety of model-generated information aggregated over each user-defined sub-watershed, including the following:
mn_run_ind: Mean runoff index, indicating the relative amount of water runoff that’s likely to come from the sub-watershed, based on
geomorphological characteristics. Unitless value.
n_ret_tot: Total amount of nutrient retained in the sub-watershed. In kilograms/year.
n_exp_tot: Total amount of nutrient exported to the stream in the sub- watershed. In kilograms/year.
n_adjl_tot: Total amount of nutrient loading (‘adjusted load’) leaving each pixel in the sub-watershed. In kilograms/year.
value_n: Total monetary value of nutrient retention in the sub-
watershed, in terms of avoided water treatment costs at the outlet of the larger watershed. Value is in the user-provided currency.
100 • water_yield_workspace\output: Folder containing outputs from the InVEST Water
Yield model, which is run as part of the Nutrient model. Contains the following folder and files:
o pixel: Folder containing per-pixel model outputs. These are generated as part of the model computations, and are provided here only to be used for reference, or learning more about how the model works, they are not to be directly used for decision-making, as the InVEST model output is intended to be used only at the sub-watershed scale.
aet.tif: Actual evapotranspiration, in mm/year.
fractp.tif: Fraction of precipitation that leaves the system as evapotranspiration, unitless value.
wyield.tif: Amount of water running off of the pixel, in mm/year. • water_yield_watershed.csv: Table in .csv (comma separated value) format, containing
Water Yield model output aggregated over each user-supplied sub-watershed. Columns are as follows:
o ws_id: Sub-watershed ID
o precip_mn: Mean annual precipitation across the sub-watershed, in mm/year. o PET_mn: Mean potential evapotranspiration across the sub-watershed, in
mm/year.
o AET_mn: Mean actual evapotranspiration across the sub-watershed, in mm/year.
o wyield_mn: Mean water yield across the sub-watershed, in mm/year.
o wyield_vol: Total volume of water yield across the sub-watershed, in m3/year.
• wyield_sheds.shp: Shapefile containing a spatial version of the data contained in
water_yield_watershed.csv. It also contains additional columns as follows:
o hectare_mn: Mean water yield per hectare across the sub-watershed, in mm/year.
o num_pixels: Number of raster pixels contained within the sub-watershed. Integer.
101 Within the sediment_workspaces scenario folders are the following folders and files. See the InVEST Sediment model Interpreting Results section for more detail.
• intermediate: During the running of the model, several intermediate files are
generated in this folder, which are not generally used for final decision-making but may be of interest to someone wanting to learn more about the details of the models. Most of these will not be detailed here, except for v_stream.tif, which is a GIS raster showing the stream network generated by the model, based on the user-defined threshold flow accumulation. For model results to most closely represent the functioning of the watershed being analyzed, it is important that this stream network closely match the actual stream network.
• output: Folder containing the primary output files of interest (as well as a few others of less general interest, which will not be described here.) As with the other per-pixel outputs already described, the rasters listed here are not intended to be used for decision-making, they are only provided for reference, as the InVEST model output is intended to be used only at the sub-watershed scale. Primary output files are as follows:
o usle.tif: Amount of sediment that leaves each pixel of the landscape, as calculated by the USLE. In tons/year.
o sed_export.tif: Amount of USLE sediment that runs downslope, is not retained by the landscape, and ends up in the stream. In tons/year.
o sed_ret.tif: Amount of USLE sediment that runs downslope, is retained by the landscape, so it does not end up in the stream. In tons/year.
o watershed_outputs.shp: Shapefile containing a variety of model-generated information aggregated over each user-defined sub-watershed, including the following:
sret_mn_dr: Mean amount of sediment retained across the whole sub- watershed, adjusted for the user-defined dredging threshold.
upret_mean: Mean amount of sediment that is retained from what arrives from upslope of each pixel in the sub-watershed (does not take into account the amount of sediment generated by each pixel itself.) In tons/year.
usle_mean: Mean amount of sediment that originates on pixels in the sub-watershed, as calculated by the USLE. In tons/year.
upret_tot: Total amount of sediment that is retained from what arrives from upslope of each pixel in the sub-watershed (does not take into
102 account the amount of sediment generated by each pixel itself.)In
tons/year.
sret_sm_dr: Total amount of sediment retained across the sub- watershed, adjusted for the user-defined dredging threshold. sed_export: Total amount of sediment exported to the stream. In
tons/year.
sed_val_dr: Total value of sediment retained in the sub-watershed, in terms of avoided dredging costs. In the user-specified currency. sret_sm_wq: Total amount of sediment retained across the sub-
watershed, adjusted for the user-defined water quality threshold. sed_val_wq: Total value of sediment retained in the sub-watershed, in
terms of avoided dredging costs. In the user-specified currency.
sret_mn_wq: Mean amount of sediment retained across the whole sub- watershed, adjusted for the user-defined water quality threshold. usle_tot: Total amount of sediment originating on each pixel in the sub-
watershed, as calculated by the USLE. In tons/year.
Within the Workspace folder, log files are saved for each RIOS tool run, containing all of the output messages written to the console screen while the tool is open and running. For Benefits Estimator, the log file is called rios_beer-log-<date>-<time>.txt. When
corresponding with the Natural Capital Project group regarding errors or other problems running the model, please provide this file.