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Food supply is affected by a complex nexus of land, atmosphere, and human processes, including short- and long-term stressors (e.g., drought and climate change, respectively). A simulation platform that captures these complex elements can be used to inform policy and best management practices to promote sustainable agriculture. We have developed a tightly coupled framework using the macroscale variable infiltration capacity (VIC) hydrologic model and the CropSyst agricultural model. A mechanistic irrigation module was also developed for inclusion in this framework. Because VIC–CropSyst combines two widely used and mechanistic models (for crop phenology, growth, management, and macroscale hydrology), it can provide realistic and hydrologically consistent simulations of water availability, crop water requirements for irrigation, and agricultural productivity for both irrigated and dryland systems. This allows VIC–CropSyst to provide managers and decision makers with reliable information on regional water stresses and their impacts on food production. Additionally, VIC–CropSyst is being used in conjunction with socioeconomic models, river system models, and atmospheric models to simulate feedback processes between regional water availability, agricultural water management decisions, and land–atmosphere interactions. The performance of VIC–CropSyst was evaluated on both regional (over the US Pacific Northwest) and point scales. Point-scale evaluation involved using two flux tower sites located in agricultural fields in the US (Nebraska and Illinois). The agreement between recorded and simulated evapotranspiration (ET), applied irrigation water, soil moisture, leaf area index (LAI), and yield indicated that, although the model is intended to work on regional scales, it also captures field-scale processes in agricultural areas.
Details
Atmospheric models;
Atmosphere;
Soil moisture;
Soil water;
Water management;
Leaf area index;
Drought;
Climate change;
Computer simulation;
Irrigation;
Food;
Infiltration capacity;
Evapotranspiration;
Water availability;
Irrigation water;
Decisions;
Leaf area;
Availability;
Agricultural production;
Water requirements;
Arid lands;
Food production;
Sustainable agriculture;
Best management practices;
Hydrologic cycle;
Climate models;
Hydrologic models;
Regional analysis;
Cropping systems;
Crop phenology;
Regional-scale models;
Socioeconomic factors;
Soil;
Foods;
Food supply;
Crop water;
Agricultural land;
Arid zones;
Agricultural management;
Irrigation systems
; Liu, Mingliang 4 ; Rajagopalan, Kirti 5 ; Barik, Muhammad 6 ; Adam, Jennifer C 4 1 Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA; currently at: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
2 Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
3 Air Worldwide Corp., Boston, Massachusetts, USA
4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
5 Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
6 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA; currently at: University of Alabama in Huntsville, NASA-SERVIR, Huntsville, AL, USA