Basin runoff calibration using gradient boosting decision trees: Impact of dual gridded potential evapotranspiration sources on model performance in Iznik Lake Basin, Türkiye


Amiri A. M., ÖRÜÇ F.

Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, cilt.66, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 66
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103574
  • Dergi Adı: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Gradient Boosting Decision Trees, Gridded potential evapotranspiration datasets, Hydrological simulation, Uncertainty analysis
  • Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Study region: This study focuses on the Iznik Basin, an endorheic catchment in a semi-humid region of Bursa, Türkiye, characterized by significant anthropogenic influence and hydrological sensitivity. Study focus: This research evaluates the impact of gridded potential evapotranspiration (GPET) products, specifically the reanalysis-based ERA5-Land dataset with the satellite-based GLEAM on daily streamflow prediction. Three gradient boosting algorithms (CatBoost, XGBoost, and LightGBM) were implemented. Hyperparameters were optimized via Optuna utilizing temporal cross-validation to maximize performance across multiple metrics: Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), LogNSE, Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE), and percent bias (PBIAS). To ensure model transparency, SHapley additive exPlanations (SHAP) were employed to interpret feature importance, while Jacobian-based sensitivity analysis quantified the sensitivity of runoff predictions to GPET inputs. New hydrological insights: LightGBM exhibited superior performance in simulating daily streamflow, achieving a NSE of 0.69 and a KGE of 0.77, though CatBoost surpassed both LightGBM and XGBoost in predicting low-flow dynamics. The integration of GLEAM inputs resulted in an approximately 30% reduction in PBIAS propagation compared to ERA5-Land, which demonstrated a systematic negative deviation. SHAP identified GPET as the third most influential predictor, primarily affecting model behavior during recession periods. Jacobian analysis revealed a negative correlation between GPET and streamflow. These findings underscore that the choice between reanalysis-based and satellite-based GPET is a critical determinant in the uncertainty budget of data-driven hydrological frameworks, particularly in data-sparse regions.