Measuring And Modelling The Water Balance Of Low Rainfall Cropping Systems

Whitbread, A M and Hoffmann, M P and Davoren, C W and Mowat, D and Baldock, J A (2017) Measuring And Modelling The Water Balance Of Low Rainfall Cropping Systems. Transactions of the ASABE, 60 (6). pp. 2097-2110. ISSN 2151-0032

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Abstract

In low-rainfall cropping systems, understanding the water balance, and in particular the storage of soil water in the rooting zone for use by crops, is considered critical for devising risk management strategies for grain-based farming. Crop-soil modeling remains a cost-effective option for understanding the interactions between rainfall, soil, and crop growth, from which management options can be derived. The objective of this study was to assess the error in the prediction of soil water content at key decision points in the season against continuous, multi-layer soil water measurements made with frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) probes in long-term experiments in the Mallee region of South Australia and New South Wales. Field estimates of the crop lower limit or drained upper limit were found to be more reliable than laboratory- based estimates, despite the fact that plant-available water capacity (PAWC) did not substantially differ between the methods. Using the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to simulate plant-available water over three-year rotations, predicted soil water was within 7 mm (PAWC 64 to 99 mm) of the measured data across all sowing events and rotations. Simulated (n = 46) wheat grain production resulted in a root mean square error (RMSE) of 492 kg ha-1, which is only marginally smaller than that of other field studies that derived soil water limits with less detailed methods. This study shows that using field-derived data of soil water limits and soil-specific settings for parameterization of other properties that determine soil evaporation and water redistribution enables APSIM to be widely applied for managing climate risk in low-rainfall environments.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : Innovation Systems for the Drylands (ISD)
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	APSIM, Climate risk management, Crop models, Decision support, Soil moisture, Agricultural Production Systems SIMulator, Climate risk, APSIM model, Cropping systems
Subjects:	Others > Climate Risk Others > Cropping and Farming Systems Others > Soil Science
Depositing User:	Mr Ramesh K
Date Deposited:	10 Apr 2018 10:16
Last Modified:	10 Apr 2018 10:20
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/10551
Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.12581
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	Submitted for review in August 2017 as manuscript number NRES 12581; approved for publication as part of the “Crop Modeling and Decision Support for Optimizing Use of Limited Water” collection by the Natural Resources & Environmental Systems Community of ASABE in October 2017. We thank Mallee Sustainable Farming, Inc., and collaborating farmers Allen Buckley and Jim Maynard for their assistance and the Grain Research and Development Corporation for financial support. In particular, Dr. V. V. S. R. Gupta and the late David Roget are acknowledged for their pivotal roles in initiating the long-term trials described in this article. Dr. Ben Jones of Mallee Focus is acknowledged for database compilation of the trial management information and results. The staff time of A. M. Whitbread has been funded through the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land, and Ecosystems (WLE) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS).
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