Modelling coupled social and biophysical dynamics of water resources systems is increasingly important due to population growth and changes in the water cycle driven by climate change. Models that explicitly represent these coupled dynamics are challenging to design and implement, particularly given the complicated and cross-scale nature of water governance. Agent-based models (ABMs) can capture human decision-making and nested social hierarchies, however, transferability is made difficult by location-specific details. A consistent description of water resources decision-makers (individuals, groups, agencies) would advance the rate of model development and increase synthesis across systems. Reviewing water resources ABMs, we propose eight agent types and associated operational roles that modify the storage, redistribution, and water use in a system. Application of the proposed typologies and use of best practices in model documentation, will support systematic design and development of transferable, scalable, water resources ABMs and facilitate the dynamic coupling of social and biophysical process modelling.

由于人口增长和气候变化驱动的水循环变化，对水资源系统的社会和生物物理动力学耦合建模越来越重要。明确代表这些耦合动力的模型在设计和实施方面具有挑战性，特别是考虑到水治理的复杂性和跨规模性。基于代理的模型（ABM）可以捕获人类的决策和嵌套的社会层次结构，但是，由于特定于位置的详细信息而使可传递性变得困难。对水资源决策者（个人，团体，机构）的一致描述将提高模型开发的速度并提高整个系统的综合性。在审查水资源ABM时，我们提出了八种代理类型和相关的操作角色，它们可以修改存储，重新分配，和系统中的用水。在模型文档中应用拟议的类型和最佳做法，将支持可转让，可扩展的水资源ABM的系统设计和开发，并促进社会和生物物理过程建模的动态耦合。