i-Tree HydroPlus
(If you have questions about this tool, please contact both Dr. Ted Endreny <te@esf.edu> and i-Tree support <info@itreetools.org>. Note that free technical support is not available for Research Suite tools including HydroPlus. Email i-Tree support about consultation.)
Summary of HydroPlus features
- i-Tree HydroPlus is a suite of process-based environmental models that share common algorithms, organized in a C++ solution containing:
- i-Tree Hydro: a statistically-distributed hydrology model simulating the effects of land cover changes on water quantity and quality, unique in explicitly modeling vegetation processes (Wang et al., 2008).
- i-Tree Cool Air: a spatially-explicit air temperature model simulating the effects of land cover changes using i-Tree Hydro's water budget and an energy budget that explicitly accounts for vegetation processes (Yang et al., 2013).
- i-Tree Cool River: a river temperature model for simulating the effects of channel morphology, riparian shading, tributaries, stormwater inflow, groundwater mixing, and river restoration by using a set of 1D advection, dispersion, and energy flux equations (Abdi & Endreny, 2019).
- A Weather Preprocessor utility derived from i-Tree Eco is available to prepare inputs for HydroPlus models.
- Test Cases serve as sample input-output for all HydroPlus models and simulation modes.
- A Technical Manual serves as a central source of guidance about use and development of HydroPlus. The archived Hydro GUI User Manual is also linked to below for reference.
- No free technical support is available for the i-Tree Research Suite; to inquire about consultation for these models, contact i-Tree support.
Description
The HydroPlus environmental model suite includes the process-based models i-Tree Hydro, i-Tree Cool Air, and in the future potentially other models developed by the iTree-ESF collaborative. These models share common algorithms (for example, to simulate interception by tree canopy) and are thus 'unified' in HydroPlus. The HydroPlus code is continually being developed. The latest in-development version of HydroPlus is available below, including green infrastructure and other model and code improvements. You can also find the archived UnifiedHydro.exe (the predecessor to the latest HydroPlus.exe), which was used in the retired i-Tree Hydro v6 GUI.
The HydroPlus Technical Manual includes some history to provide context and institutional knowledge. This document serves as an FAQ for the researchers developing and using HydroPlus. The Technical Manual is evolving and expanding over time to include basic information about code architecture and common development practices (e.g. how to add new functions and inputs); explanation and solutions to common problems that come up when working with these complex models; and different options or configurations possible for running these programs.
This page offers the HydroPlus C++ source code and a compiled executable file for running the code. The model executable is run from the command line along with an extensible markup language (XML) HydroPlusConfig.xml file, which includes model settings and parameters. See the Technical Manual for information on how to interact with the source code or use the compiled executable file. HydroPlus C++ can be edited and recompiled with Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition, which is freeware. A weather preprocessor is also available below, based on an i-Tree Eco batch weather preprocessing utility, which can format raw hourly weather archives from NOAA's Integrated Surface Database and preprocess that formatted raw data (as described in Hirabayashi & Endreny, 2016) for use in the Hydro and Cool Air models.
Being part of the i-Tree Research Suite of advanced tools, i-Tree's usual level of technical support and documentation is not available for HydroPlus. This tool is intended for users with a moderate level of expertise in environmental and computer science. Technical support is not available for free, but expert consultation can be arranged. If interested in consultation, reach out to the i-Tree Team at info@itreetools.org.
Links
We suggest downloading the latest HydroPlus package and HydroPlus Technical Manual. If you are using your own raw weather data, you will need the Weather preprocessor scripts and utility. The archived UnifiedHydro and Autocalibration packages are also provided for users looking for the version of the model that was synchronized with the i-Tree Hydro v6 GUI (i-Tree Hydro v6.3).
HydroPlus Packages
Code, utilities, inputs and outputs
- Latest HydroPlus package (revision 1224) including model .exe, manual, test cases, auto-testing script, and PEST calibration script (C++, .zip). Minimal technical support is available for the latest HydroPlus package at this time.
- Weather preprocessor scripts and utility (revision 153) based on Hirabayashi & Endreny, 2016 (C# Console App, .zip)
- Start with the ReadMe.txt in the \TestCases\ folder and use the WeatherPrep.exe program in the \WeatherPrep\WeatherPrep\bin\Release\ folder.
Manuals
Learning Materials
- i-Tree Research Suite, HydroPlus and Green Infrastructure (GI) - 75 min. - An introduction to advanced modeling tools developed by SUNY-ESF and the i-Tree Team, presented by Krista Heinlen (Davey Institute), Robbie Coville (Davey Institute), and Reza Abdi (SUNY-ESF).
- Slides (pdf): i-Tree Tools Help Strategically Manage Urban Forests: Letting Nature Convert Stormwater into Cooler, Resilient Cities - Webinar presented by Dr. Theodore Endreny on i-Tree Cool Air.
Scientific papers describing HydroPlus model methods
- Hydrology methods: Archive of scientific papers describing methods used by the semi-distributed Hydro model
- Air temperature methods: A physically based analytical spatial air temperatureand humidity model - Yang et al. (2013) introducing spatial Cool Air model methods
- River temperature methods: Computer algorithms to simulate nature-based restoration of urban river and stormwater systems - Abdi (2019) introducing Green Infrastructure based on EPA SWMM model Low Impact Development modules. Section 5.2 describes GI methods; Tables 13 & 17 list parameters used in GI TestCases; Figures 30-32 depict GI structure types and diagram output variables.
Archived Packages (No Longer Supported)
- UnifiedHydro package (revision 575 for i-Tree Hydro v6.3) including model .exe, manual, test cases and auto-testing script (C++, .zip)
- UnifiedHydro program, used by i-Tree Hydro v6.3 (UnifiedHydro.exe in a .zip)
- UnifiedHydro test cases, sample inputs & outputs used for testing (.zip)
- Autocalibration utilities for HydroPlus (revision 2) derived from PEST 17.1 (.zip)
- Hydro V6 (GUI) User Manual (.pdf)
- HydroPlus Technical Manual 2021 (.pdf)