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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Plant Physiology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #397301
Research Project: Analysis and Quantification of G x E x M Interactions for Sustainable Crop Production

Location: Plant Physiology and Genetics Research

Title: Simulation of evapotranspiration and yield of maize: An inter-comparison among 41 maize models

Author
item Kimball, Bruce
item Thorp, Kelly
item BOOTE, KENNETH - University Of Florida
item STOCKLE, CLAUDIO - Washington State University
item SUYKER, ANDREW - University Of Nebraska
item Evett, Steven - Steve
item Brauer, David
item Coyle, Gwen
item Copeland, Karen
item Marek, Gary
item Colaizzi, Paul
item ACUTIS, MARCO - University Of Milan
item ALIMAGHAM, SEYYEDMAJID - Gorgan University Of Agricultural Sciences And Natural Resources
item ARCHONTOULIS, SOTIRIOS - Iowa State University
item BABACAR, FAYE - Institute For Research And Development (IRD)
item BARCZA, ZOLTAN - Eotvos Lorand University
item BASSO, BRUNO - Michigan State University
item BERTUZZI, PATRICK - Institut National De La Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
item CONSTANTIN, JULIE - University Of Toulouse
item DE ANTONI MIGLIORATI, MASSIMILIANO - Queensland Government
item DUMONT, BENJAMIN - University Of Liege
item DURAND, JEAN-LOUIS - Institut National De La Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
item FODOR, NANDOR - Czech University Of Life Sciences Prague
item GAISER, THOMAS - University Of Bonn
item GAROFALO, PASQUALE - Council For Agricultural Research And Ag Econcomy Analysis
item GAYLER, SEBASTIAN - University Of Hohenheim
item GIGLIO, LUISA - Council For Agricultural Research And Ag Econcomy Analysis
item GRANT, ROBERT - University Of Alberta
item GUAN, KAIYU - University Of Illinois
item HOOGENBOOM, GERRIT - University Of Florida
item JIANG, QIANJING - McGill University - Canada
item KIM, SOO-HYUNG - University Of Washington
item KISEKKA, ISAYA - University Of California, Davis
item LIZASO, JON - Ciudad University - Spain
item MASIA, SARA - Delft University
item MENG, HUIMIN - China Agricultural University
item MEREU, VALENTINA - Mediterranean Centre On Climate Change
item MUKHTAR, AHMED - University Of Arid Agriculture
item PEREGO, ALESSIA - University Of Milan
item PENG, BIN - University Of Illinois
item PRIESACK, ECKART - Helmholtz Centre
item QI, ZHIMING - McGill University - Canada
item SHELIA, VAKHTANG - University Of Florida
item SNYDER, RICHARD - University Of California, Davis
item SOLTANI, AFSHIN - Gorgan University Of Agricultural Sciences And Natural Resources
item SPANO, DONATELLA - Mediterranean Centre On Climate Change
item SRIVASTAVA, AMIT - University Of Bonn
item THOMSON, AIMEE - University Of Pretoria
item Timlin, Dennis
item TRABUCCO, ANTONIO - Mediterranean Centre On Climate Change
item WEBBER, HEIDI - Leibniz Centre
item WEBER, TOBIAS - University Of Hohenheim
item WILLAUME, MAGALI - Institut National De La Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
item WILLIAMS, KARINA - University Of Exeter
item VAN DER LAAN, MICHAEL - University Of Pretoria
item VENTRELLA, DOMENICO - Crea
item VISWANATHAN, MICHELLE - University Of Hohenheim
item XU, XU - China Agricultural University
item ZHOU, WANG - University Of Illinois

Submitted to: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/24/2023
Publication Date: 3/10/2023
Citation: Kimball, B.A., Thorp, K.R., Boote, K.J., Stockle, C., Suyker, A.E., Evett, S.R., Brauer, D.K., Coyle, G.G., Copeland, K.S., Marek, G.W., Colaizzi, P.D., Acutis, M., Alimagham, S., Archontoulis, S., Babacar, F., Barcza, Z., Basso, B., Bertuzzi, P., Constantin, J., De Antoni Migliorati, M., Dumont, B., Durand, J., Fodor, N., Gaiser, T., Garofalo, P., Gayler, S., Giglio, L., Grant, R., Guan, K., Hoogenboom, G., Jiang, Q., Kim, S., Kisekka, I., Lizaso, J., Masia, S., Meng, H., Mereu, V., Mukhtar, A., Perego, A., Peng, B., Priesack, E., Qi, Z., Shelia, V., Snyder, R., Soltani, A., Spano, D., Srivastava, A., Thomson, A., Timlin, D.J., Trabucco, A., Webber, H., Weber, T., Willaume, M., Williams, K., van der Laan, M., Ventrella, D., Viswanathan, M., Xu, X., Zhou, W. 2023. Simulation of evapotranspiration and yield of maize: An inter-comparison among 41 maize models. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 333. Article 109396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109396.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109396

Interpretive Summary: Crop growth models are useful tools for assisting in the management of agricultural crops as well as for predicting the likely effects of future climate change. An important aspect that determines the ability of crop growth models to simulate growth and yield is their ability to simulate the rate of water consumption or evapotranspiration (ET) of the crop, especially for rain-fed crops. If, for example, the simulated ET rate is too high, the simulated crop may exhaust its soil water supply before the next rain event, thereby causing growth and yield predictions that are too low. In a prior inter-comparison among 29 maize growth models, ET predictions varied widely, and there were some issues with the dataset used for the standard for comparison. Therefore, the study was repeated this time with 41 models using more comprehensive datasets from two locations -Mead, NE and Bushland, TX. Like the previous study, there was a significant variation among the models in their simulated ET. Nevertheless, several models performed well at simulating ET, as well as yield. Older, well-used models that have been tested over a wide range of conditions did best. Approaches used in the better models were identified. This research will help present-day and future farmers and agricultural researchers, and of course all food consumers.

Technical Abstract: Accurate simulation of crop water use (evapotranspiration, ET) can help crop growth models to assess the likely effects of climate change on future crop productivity, as well as being an aid for irrigation scheduling for today’s growers. To determine how well maize growth models can simulate ET, an initial inter-comparison study was conducted in 2019 under the umbrella of AgMIP (Agricultural Model Inter-Comparison and Improvement Project). Herein, we present results of a second inter-comparison study of 41 maize models that was conducted using more comprehensive datasets from two additional sites - Mead, Nebraska, USA and Bushland, Texas, USA. There were 20 treatment-years with varying irrigation levels over multiple seasons at both sites. ET was measured using eddy covariance at Mead and using large weighing lysimeters at Bushland. A wide range in ET rates was simulated among the models, yet several generally were able to simulate ET rates adequately. The ensemble median values were generally close to the observations, but a few of the models sometimes performed better than the median. Many of the models that did well at simulating ET for the Mead site did poorly for drier, windy days at the Bushland site, suggesting they need to improve how they handle humidity and wind. Additional variability came from the approaches used to simulate soil water evaporation. Fortunately, several models were identified that did well at simulating soil water evaporation, canopy transpiration, biomass accumulation, and grain yield. These models were older and have been widely used, which suggests that a larger number of users have tested these models over a wider range of conditions leading to their improvement. These revelations of the better approaches are leading to model improvements and more accurate simulations of ET.