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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308282
Title: Linking a modified EPIC-based growth model (UPGM) with a component-based watershed model (AGES-W)

Author
item McMaster, Gregory
item Ascough Ii, James
item Edmunds, Debora
item DAVID, OLAF - Colorad0 State University
item Wagner, Larry
item Fox, Jr, Fred
item Erskine, Robert - Rob
item KIPKA, HOLM - Colorad0 State University
item Green, Timothy

Submitted to: Environmental Modeling International Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/2014
Publication Date: 6/15/2014
Citation: McMaster, G.S., Ascough II, J.C., Edmunds, D.A., David, O., Wagner, L.E., Fox, F.A., Erskine, R.H., Kipka, H., Green, T.R. 2014. Linking a modified EPIC-based growth model (UPGM) with a component-based watershed model (AGES-W). Environmental Modeling International Conference. June 15-19. 2014, San Diego, California.

Interpretive Summary: 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.

Technical 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.