Keywords

water management; plant growth model; phenology; seedling emergence; canopy height.

Location

Session H3: Agro-Ecosystem Modeling for Spatial Solutions to Watershed Conundrums

Start Date

19-6-2014 10:40 AM

End Date

19-6-2014 12:20 PM

Abstract

Agricultural models and decision support systems (DSS) for assessing water use and management are increasingly being applied to diverse geographic regions at different scales. This requires models that can simulate different crops, however, very few plant growth models are available that "easily" can simulate the growth of many common and alternative crops. One option available is a suite of plant growth models based on the original plant growth model used in EPIC (Erosion Productivity Index Calculator). Various versions of the original EPIC plant growth model have been used in other agroecosystem models such as the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS), Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP), Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), ALMANAC, and the Great Plains Framework for Agricultural Resource Management (GPFARM) DSS. While these versions are quite similar, slight improvements and changes have been made for specific model objectives. Unfortunately, improvements to individual models have generally not been incorporated into the other models and several process algorithms need improvement to better simulate diverse environments and management practices. This paper first discusses efforts to develop the Unified Plant Growth Model (UPGM) as the platform for incorporating different versions of the EPIC-based plant growth models and then improve specific sub-modules (e.g., phenology, seedling emergence, canopy height) for improved overall model performance. Then progress linking UPGM with the AgroEcoSystems-Watershed (AgES-W) model is discussed. AgES-W uses a SWAT­ based plant growth model and is a component-based model for simulating soil-plant-water-nutrient processes in a spatial context.

COinS
 
Jun 19th, 10:40 AM Jun 19th, 12:20 PM

Linking a Modified EPIC-Based Plant Growth Model (UPGM) with a Component-Based Watershed Model (AgES-W)

Session H3: Agro-Ecosystem Modeling for Spatial Solutions to Watershed Conundrums

Agricultural models and decision support systems (DSS) for assessing water use and management are increasingly being applied to diverse geographic regions at different scales. This requires models that can simulate different crops, however, very few plant growth models are available that "easily" can simulate the growth of many common and alternative crops. One option available is a suite of plant growth models based on the original plant growth model used in EPIC (Erosion Productivity Index Calculator). Various versions of the original EPIC plant growth model have been used in other agroecosystem models such as the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS), Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP), Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), ALMANAC, and the Great Plains Framework for Agricultural Resource Management (GPFARM) DSS. While these versions are quite similar, slight improvements and changes have been made for specific model objectives. Unfortunately, improvements to individual models have generally not been incorporated into the other models and several process algorithms need improvement to better simulate diverse environments and management practices. This paper first discusses efforts to develop the Unified Plant Growth Model (UPGM) as the platform for incorporating different versions of the EPIC-based plant growth models and then improve specific sub-modules (e.g., phenology, seedling emergence, canopy height) for improved overall model performance. Then progress linking UPGM with the AgroEcoSystems-Watershed (AgES-W) model is discussed. AgES-W uses a SWAT­ based plant growth model and is a component-based model for simulating soil-plant-water-nutrient processes in a spatial context.