The determination of soil parameters is important in predicting the simulated surface runoff using either a distributed or a lumped rainfall-runoff model. Soil characteristics can be collected using remote sensing techniques and represented as a digital map. There is no universal agreement with respect to the determination of a representative parameter from a gridded digital map. Two representative methods, i.e., arithmetic and predominant, are introduced and applied to both FLO-2D and HEC-HMS to improve the model’s accuracy. Both methods are implemented in the Yongdam catchment, and the results show that the former seems to be more accurate than the latter in the test site. This is attributed to the high conductivity of the dominant soil class, which is A type.

The determination of soil characteristics is important in the simulation of rainfall runoff using a distributed FLO-2D model in catchment analysis. Digital maps acquired using remote sensing techniques have been widely used in modern hydrology. However, the determination of a representative parameter with spatial scaling mismatch is difficult. In this investigation, the FLO-2D rainfall-runoff model is utilized in the Yongdam catchment to test sensitivity based on three different methods (mosaic, arithmetic, and predominant) that describe soil surface characteristics in real systems. The results show that the mosaic method is costly, but provides a reasonably realistic description and exhibits superior performance compared to other methods in terms of both the amount and time to peak flow.