The Suite CropSyst to Simulate Cropping Systems Marcello Donatelli CRA-ISCI, Italy Claudio Stockle BSE-WSU, USA

CropSyst course program Introduction to the CropSyst suite, model evaluation Calibration and evaluation Crop growth Water balance Nitrogen balance GIS application Building a simulation Optimizing water use Nitrogen balance Rotations

The Team Claudio Stockle, BSE-WSU, USA - Main Developer and Team Leader Roger Nelson, BSE-WSU, USA - Main Programmer (C++) Armen Kemanian, TAES-Blackland Research Center – Development and Applications Marcello Donatelli CRA-ISCI, Italy – Components development (C#, .NET) Luca Bechini, DPVT-UNIMI, Italy – Applications, (VBA-Access) Collaborators M. Rivington, G. Campbell, F. Ferrer, F. Van Evert,, Y. Yang, P. Debecke, L. Carlini, … … …

CropSyst Description Multiyear, multicrop, daily time-step crop simulation model Technically sound, packaged in a user-friendly interface Available for Windows and Linux Accessible via Internet: manuals,programs, documentation listserver related programs

Input-output fluxes in CropSyst Evapotranspiration Volatilization Rainfall Management irrigation tillage fertilization pesticides herbicides harvest CROP Runoff Soil loss SOIL Percolation Leaching Water rise

CropSyst includes the simulation of: Crop development and growth Simulation of growth under increased atmospheric CO2 concentration Water and nitrogen balance Salinity Residue fate Soil erosion by water Soil organic carbon changes Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and N2O)

Crop processes in CropSyst development growth ligth interception net photosynthesis biomass partitioning leaf expansion roots deepening leaf senescence water uptake nitrogen uptake water stress nitrogen stress light stress

Soil processes in CropSyst residues fate SOC nitrogen transformations water erosion ammonia volatilization ammonium sorption water infiltration water redistribution runoff evaporation percolation solutes transport salinization nitrogen fixation

CropSyst Development CropSyst has been developed as a management-oriented tool, not as a basic research tool Intended use is applied research: scenario analysis of productivity and environmental impact of cropping systems and their management climate change impact on cropping systems and alleviation management strategies

Parameters Required CropSyst simulates many processes governing the relationships between weather, crop, soil and management. A number of parameters are required to characterize the site, the crops, the soil, and the management applied. However, for most of the parameters, there are tables in the documentation with values usable in different conditions.

Inputs required Meteorological data: daily air Tmax, Tmin, Rainfall, SolarRad*, Wind* Soil parameters, by horizon down to 1.5 m: Texture, Organic Carbon, SWCFC*, SWCPWP*, BulkDensity* Crop: species, duration of the biological cycle*, efficiency parameters Management: data of application, amount * Can be estimated

CropSyst Management Options Irrigation with fresh and saline water Inorganic nitrogen fertilization Organic nitrogen fertilization Tillage Crop operations: sowing, harvest, forage cuts etc. Automatic irrigation can be activated reproducing farmer’s choices Automatic clipping of forages is also available

Model Evaluation Model calibration and evaluation has been performed for a number of sites, greatly varying for thermal and hydrological regimes. Most of the evaluation performed has regarded the water and the nitrogen balance, and crop growth.

CropSyst evaluation In general terms, the test of a cropping system model performance should be seen as an evaluation, rather than a validation. A calibration will be performed using information provided by partners working in the area. It is crucial to have data collected on crops grown in nearly optimal conditions We aim at being able to capture the main components of the year by year variation, while quantifying input-otputs for different systems.

Programs in the CropSyst Suite ClimGen, a weather generator which allows generating air temperature, rainfall, solar radiation, and vapour pressure deficit. The ARCCS Cooperator allows interfacing CropSyst input-outputs to geo-referenced dataset. Related programs and libraries RadEst, a software to estimate solar radiation SOILPAR, a software to estimate soil hydrological parameters IRENE, a software to analyze CS outputs

The CropSyst Suite: ClimGen ClimGen offers an array of methods that use the available weather data for extracting generation parameters. ClimGen is able to generate approximately correct weather files based solely on monthly parameters. ClimGen can be used anywhere in the world.

The CropSyst Suite: The ARCCS Cooperator ARCCS is an interface program that constructs CropSyst simulation files that are associated to polygons in a combination map. ARCCS controls unattended long-term simulations for a given combination map ARCCS prepares GIS-compatible tables that are used to display user-selected simulation outputs into maps.

“Companion” programs RadEst allows estimating global solar radiation at ground level from site and air temperature data SOILPAR contains a library of pedotransfer functions to estimate soil hydraulic parameters from commonly available soil data IRENE contains a library of methods to compare estimates vs. measured data, including pattern indices and integrated indices using fuzzy logic

International Cooperation We are convinced that great progress for both model development and applications can be obtained by working together in specific projects. We are available and willing to assist users in calibrating and testing the model in different environments. We are also open to cooperation to further develop both the simulation model and the user interface.