Spatio-temporal analysis of scientific research on models to estimate water balance in hydrographic basinsV

Resumen

Objective: To identify in the world the main models or tools used to evaluate changes in water regulation,
through a bibliometric review in the especialized in scientific information, Scopus database, in order to know
the main variables evaluated that affect the hydrological regime of the basins.
Design/methodology/approach: With the help of bibliometric techniques, scientific articles available until
December 2022 in the Scopus database were collected using the SUBJAREA (envi) TITLE-ABS-KEY (“water
balance” AND “land use”) AND (LIMIT-TO (OA, “all”)) AND (LIMIT-TO (DOCTYPE, “ar”)).
Results: 407 scientific articles were collected from 1965 to 2022, this scientific production shows an exponential
growing trend that was concentrated above all in countries with agricultural traditions such as the United
States (89 publications), China (33), Germany (28), the United Kingdom (25) and Australia (21).
Limitations on study/implications: Most of the research was developed on topics associated with land use
change (82 texts), climate change (48), hydrological processes (44), subsoil water (34) and evapotranspiration
calculation (33). The most recurrent models for calculating the water balance were the Direct Water Balance
(230 texts) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (83).
Findings/conclusions: No research development was found in Latin American and African countries, so
these results can help redirect efforts in the research centers of these countries, with the aim of generating new
knowledge that helps make decisions about how to improve the efficient use of water in the face of climate
change scenarios and dynamics of land use change