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Title: System Modeling for Soil and Water Research and Management: Current Status and Needs for the 21st Century

Author
item Ma, Liwang
item Ahuja, Lajpat
item Malone, Robert - Rob

Submitted to: Transactions of the ASABE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2007
Publication Date: 11/8/2007
Citation: Ma, L., Ahuja, L.R., Malone, R.W. 2007. System Modeling for Soil and Water Research and Management: Current Status and Needs for the 21st Century. Transactions of the ASABE. 50(5):1705-1713.

Interpretive Summary: Process-based models of agricultural systems are essential for optimizing the use of increasingly limited water and soil resources, guiding tactical management, and addressing the environmental concerns and global issues. Agricultural engineers have made significant contributions in the past to the development of such models and their applications in soil and water research, design, and management, and they are uniquely capable of making the much-needed and exciting further enhancements. Here, we present: (1) current status of system model development and applications in soil and water research and management, with examples of the USDA-ARS, Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM); (2) lessons learnt from RZWQM development and applications that, based on our international collaborations and literature, shared with other models; and (3) future needs and directions in system model enhancements and applications to make them more effective.

Technical Abstract: Quantitative system approaches, provided by process-based models of agricultural systems, are essential for optimizing the use of increasingly limited water and soil resources, guiding tactical management, and addressing the environmental concerns and global issues of the 21st century. Agricultural engineers have made significant contributions in the past to the development of such models and their applications in soil and water research, design, and management, and they are uniquely capable of making the much-needed and exciting further enhancements. Here, we present: (1) current status of system model development and applications in soil and water research and management, with examples of the USDA-ARS, Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM); (2) lessons learnt from RZWQM development and applications that, based on our international collaborations and literature, shared with other models; and (3) future needs and directions in system model enhancements and applications to make them more effective. We make a strong case for international collaborations among modelers and experimentalists and for a common development/applications protocol and platform for the future.