A discussion of the role of modeling in the management process, with an overview of state-of-the-art modeling applications. The first chapters provide a background on the benefits and costs of modeling and on the ecological basis of models, using historical applications as examples, while the second section describes the latest models from a wide selection of environmental disciplines. Since management frequently requires the integration of knowledge from many different areas, both single discipline and multidiscipline models are discussed in detail, and the author emphasizes the importance of understanding the issues and alternatives in choosing, applying, and evaluating models. Land and watershed managers as well as students of forestry, park management, regional planing and agriculture will find this a thorough and practical introduction to all aspects of modeling.

Water Management Models: A Guide to Software is designed to make the inventory of modeling tools more accessible to water management professionals. The purpose of the book is to assist water managers, planners, engineers, and scientists in sorting through the maze of models to understand which ones might be most useful for their particular modeling needs. Information is provided to facilitate identification, selection, and acquisition of software packages for a broad spectrum of water resources planning and management applications.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This revised, updated textbook presents a systems approach to the planning, management, and operation of water resources infrastructure in the environment. Previously published in 2005 by UNESCO and Deltares (Delft Hydraulics at the time), this new edition, written again with contributions from Jery R. Stedinger, Jozef P. M. Dijkman, and Monique T. Villars, is aimed equally at students and professionals. It introduces readers to the concept of viewing issues involving water resources as a system of multiple interacting components and scales. It offers guidelines for initiating and carrying out water resource system planning and management projects. It introduces alternative optimization, simulation, and statistical methods useful for project identification, design, siting, operation and evaluation and for studying post-planning issues. The authors cover both basin-wide and urban water issues and present ways of identifying and evaluating alternatives for addressing multiple-purpose and multi-objective water quantity and quality management challenges. Reinforced with cases studies, exercises, and media supplements throughout, the text is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in water resource planning and management as well as for practicing planners and engineers in the field.

Watershed modeling is at the heart of modern hydrology, supplying rich information that is vital to addressing resource planning, environmental, and social problems. Even in light of this important role, many books relegate the subject to a single chapter while books devoted to modeling focus only on a specific area of application. Recognizing the