# SDR model validation of a 3 year period

**URL:** <https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/sdr-model-validation-of-a-3-year-period/4528>\
**Category:** Science, Research & Data\
**Tags:** sdr\
**Created:** [March 7, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/sdr-model-validation-of-a-3-year-period/4528 "2024-03-07T17:50:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bonaccid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/90ced4/32.png) [@bonaccid](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/bonaccid)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/sdr-model-validation-of-a-3-year-period/4528/1 "2024-03-07T17:50:34Z")

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I have a concern about model validation. Is it possible to validate the SDR model result with only a 3-year period data? Any further information or clarification you can offer would be greatly appreciated. send help!

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**Author:** ![jesseG](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/jesseg/32/1068_2.png) [@jesseG](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/jesseG)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/sdr-model-validation-of-a-3-year-period/4528/2 "2024-03-07T18:11:14Z")

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Hi @bonaccid ,

Thanks for your question.

While it is possible to compare modeled SDR results with only three years’ worth of observations, I wouldn’t put a ton of confidence in those numbers being representative of long term realities. As stated in the [InVEST User Guide](https://storage.googleapis.com/releases.naturalcapitalproject.org/invest-userguide/latest/en/sdr.html#comparison-with-observations), _at least_ 10 years’ worth of empirical data is preferrable for validation and calibration.

We recommend you read that section of the User Guide carefully, as well as [Hamel et al. 2015](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.027).

-Jesse