Performance enhancement of daily reservoir evaporation rate estimation models using stacking regression by discretization with AI methods

Accurate estimation of evaporation from surface water bodies is essential for sustainable water resource planning and operational hydrology. However, direct measurement over reservoirs is complex and often impractical. In this study, an advanced machine learning framework based on Regression by Discretization (RD) was applied to predict daily reservoir evaporation at the Sidi-M’Hamed Ben Aouda Dam Basin in Algeria from 2010 to 2023. Among the models evaluated, the RD-Bagging model demonstrated superior performance with a correlation coefficient (CC) of 0.7849, mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.0139, root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0172, and percent bias (PBIAS) of -1.42% during the testing period. For the validation period, RD-Bagging yielded CC, MAE, RMSE, and PBIAS values of 0.822, 0.0119, 0.0154, and − 1.18%, respectively, indicating high predictive accuracy and low bias. The results confirm the robustness and generalization ability of the RD-Bagging model, making it a reliable tool for reservoir evaporation prediction. This study provides a foundation for the development of data-driven decision support systems in hydrological modeling and climate resilience planning. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2025.