Calculation of Topographic Index with Geographic Information System

The multiple flow direction algorithm to calculate the spatial variation of the saturation tendency, I. e. topographic index, is integrated into the Geographic Information System, GRASS. A procedure is suggested to consider the effect of a tile system on calculating the topographic index. A small agricultural subwatershed ($3.4\;\textrm{km}^2$) is used for this study. The impact of a tile system on the groundwater table can be effectively considered by the Laplace's equation to the DEM. The analysis shows that a tile system has a high degree of saturation to compared to the case without tile drainage, and the predicted riparian area is well fitted to the actual watershed condition. A procedure is suggested to consider a tile system's effect on calculating the topographic index.