Advances in Agricultural Systems Modeling

Enhancing Agricultural Research and Precision Management for Subsistence Farming Insightful applications of crop system models to developing countries to explore climate change mitigation and management decision tools Enhancing Agricultural Research and Precision Management for Subsistence Farming by Integrating System Models with Experiments delivers an authoritative collection of applications of crop system models to Asian and African environments and evaluates current agricultural systems in developing nations. The book provides models to assist in the precision management of soil, water, fertilizers and manures, soil organic matter, alternative crops, and cultivars in both rainfed and irrigated systems. Contributions cover recent and ongoing research in knowledge gap areas such as modeling the long-term effect of management soil health, the effect of extreme temperatures and drought on evapotranspiration and crop growth, root growth and the uptake of water and nutrients. The book also includes • An introduction to system models integrated with experiments as tools to develop improved management practices for subsistence farming • Explorations of models of soil erosion impacts and trade-offs for sustainable land management practices in Kenya • Discussions of the crop simulation model as a tool to quantify the effects of crop management practices in northern Ethiopia • In-depth examinations of models of water dynamics for assessing and managing ecosystem services in India Perfect for field research scientists and graduate students studying cropping and range systems, and essential reading for agricultural consultants, progressive farmers, plant breeders, and policymakers. Advances in Agricultural Systems Modeling Transdisciplinary Research, Synthesis, and Applications Lajpat R. Ahuja, Series Editor Agricultural system modeling has made substantial progress, but there are still many critical gaps in our knowledge. The American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America are taking a leadership role with the initiation of this new series. Future breakthroughs in science and technology lie at the boundaries of disciplines. The new series will • Advance critical transdisciplinary research, and its synthesis and quantification • Encourage collaboration among top researchers in building and improving models • Promote the application of system models to solve practical problems • Achieve better instruction in these models and their applications.

A complete discussion of soil-plant-climate-management processes In “Modeling Processes and Their Interactions in Cropping Systems: Challenges for the 21st Century”, a team of distinguished researchers delivers a comprehensive and up-to-date scientific textbook devoted to teaching the modeling of soil-plant-climate-management processes at the upper undergraduate and graduate levels. The book emphasizes the new opportunities and paradigms available to modern lab and field researchers and aims to improve their understanding and quantification of individual processes and their interactions. The book helps readers quantify field research results in terms of the fundamental theory and concepts broadly generalizable beyond specific sites, as well as predict experimental results from knowledge of the fundamental factors that determine the environment and plant growth in different climates. Readers will also discover: • An introduction to water and chemical transport in the soil matrix and macropores • Explorations of heat transport, water balance, snowpack, and soil freezing • Discussions of merging machine learning with APSIM models to improve the evaluation of the impact of climate extremes on wheat yields in Australia • Examinations of the quantification and modeling of management effects on soil properties, including discussions of tillage, reconsolidation, crop residues, and crop management The book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the 2030 breakthroughs in agriculture identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.