Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4379404 | Ecological Modelling | 2006 | 17 Pages |
Abstract
Over a period of 5 years, the agro-ecosystem model Opus was used to simulate soil water and nitrogen balance as well as crop growth for three experimental field plots. At these plots, different agricultural management practices were applied. The data set obtained from these plots consists of automatically recorded time series of daily volumetric soil water contents measured by TRIME-probes as well as daily pressure heads measured by tensiometer. Aboveground total biomass, yield, nitrogen-uptake by crops as well as nitrate contents in the soil were measured at 6-10 sample times per year. The objective of this study was an evaluation of the accuracy of Opus regarding the simulation of crop growth, soil water and nitrogen balance. The simulations of soil water contents and pressure heads correspond with the commonly measured trends in soil depths shallower than 60Â cm. In depths deeper than 60Â cm, some differences between measured and simulated soil water contents as well as pressure heads could be observed. Nitrate contents in the root zone and the aboveground total biomass were simulated satisfactorily. In contrast to that, simulated and observed yields show greater discrepancies. This indicates the need of a site specific calibration of crop growth parameters within the Opus model.
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Authors
Martin Wegehenkel, Wilfried Mirschel,