Modeling canopy water content in the assessment for rainfall induced surface and groundwater nitrate contamination: The Bilate cropland sub watershed.

Nitrate contamination in surface and groundwater remains a widespread problem in agricultural watersheds is primarily associated to high levels of percolation or leakage from fertilized soil, which allows easy infiltration from soil into groundwater. This study was aimed to predict canopy water content to determine the nitrate contamination index resulting from nitrogen fertilizer loss in surface and groundwater. The study used Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model using MODIS 006 MOD13Q1-EVI Earth observation data, crop information and rainfall data.