Improved descriptions of soil hydrology in crop models: The elephant in the room?

Abstract

Soil-crop simulation models are widely used to assess the impacts of soil management and climate change on soil water balance, solute transport and crop production. In this context, it is important that hydrological processes in the soil-crop system are accurately modelled. We suggest here that empirical treatments of soil water flow, water uptake by plant mots and transpiration limit the applicability of crop models and increase prediction errors. We further argue that this empiricism is to a large extent unnecessary, as parsimonious physics-based descriptions of these water flow processes in the soil-crop system are now available. Recent reviews and opinion articles, whilst strongly advocating the need for improvements to crop models, fail to mention the significant role played by accurate treatments of soil hydrology. It seems to us that empirical models of soil water flow have become the elephant in the room.

Keywords

Crop model; Soil water flow; Root water uptake; Parameter uncertainty; Model parsimony

Published in

Agricultural Systems
2022, volume: 202, article number: 103477
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

SLU Authors

• Jarvis, Nicholas

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Larsbo, Mats

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Lewan, Elisabet

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Soil Science
Agricultural Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103477

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/119944