Extension of the EUROHARP Toolbox. Functional specification and an inventory of tools for quantification of nutrient losses from diffuse sources

Abstract

This report provides a detailed description of the extension of the EUROHARP Toolbox, and an inventory of tools capable of simulating runoff of nutrients from diffuse sources. The original version of the EUROHARP Toolbox was one of the key deliverables of the EU-funded EUROHARP-project, which was designed to model runoff from diffuse sources. The aim of this extension has been to design and program the Toolbox for further inclusion of models not tested in the EUROHARP-project. To support the registration of new tools, an on-line registration module has been developed, including a system to handle user control to information in the Toolbox database, the database has been extended and additional text and explanations provided. Furthermore, new dialogues for search (basic search and advanced search) and comparison of tools have been developed, in order to improve the possibilities to compare tools by their intrinsic properties. Based on a comprehensive search in literature, other toolboxes and databases and via the authors’ network of scientists, an inventory of models not part of the EUROHARP-project has been compiled. The compilation of models has been divided into those tools considered highly relevant (table 3.1) for the topic, and a second group of models (Appendix B) less dedicated for the simulation of nutrient runoff from diffuse sources. The ‘owners’ of the tools in the first category will be invited to register their tool in the extended EUROHARP Toolbox.