Soil-water content characterisation in a modified Jarvis-Stewart model: a case study of a conifer forest on a shallow unconfined aquifer

•We tested a Modified Jarvis-Stewart model for a subtropical shallow aquifer forest.•Transpiration is water-unlimited for a water table above a threshold depth of 0.8m.•Transpiration decreases linearly with increasing water table depth below 0.8m.•Wet season modelled-transpiration is independent from soil moisture characterisation.•Dry season modelled-transpiration is dependent on the soil moisture characterisation.