Abstract
Cropping systems models have evolved over the last four decades in response to the demand for modeling to address more complex questions, including issues on sustainable production, climate change, and environmental impacts. Early models, which were used primarily for yield gap analysis, have increased in complexity to include not only nutrient and water deficiencies, but also pest and disease damage and processes affecting soil nutrient dynamics. This is the case in the Cropping System Model (CSM) within Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). This package was developed from various models of individual crops beginning about 25 years ago into one that now has over 25 crops integrated into one program that share many components in a modular format. This modular structure was intended to facilitate incorporation of new components to address those more complex issues. A recent example of this continuing progression is that the CENTURY soil organic matter model was adapted for the DSSAT-CSM modular format in order to better model the dynamics of soil organic nutrient processes. This capability is particularly important to enable CSM to be used for predicting yields in low input cropping systems where soils tend to be deficient in organic matter and nutrients. Organic matter processes are also critical when analyzing the dynamics of cropping systems over long periods of time such as for climate change scenarios. The addition of this more detailed organic matter module provided opportunities to also improve existing components of the model, including energy balance at the soil–plant–atmosphere interface and surface water runoff computations. Conversely, the more detailed organic matter module required additional inputs from existing model components, which were not previously used. Thus, addition of this one new model capability both required and allowed further modifications throughout CSM in order to improve model predictions. This paper provides a brief overview of the DSSAT-CSM model architecture and the DSSAT-CENTURY module and details the changes made to accommodate and take advantage of the more complex soil organic matter modeling capability.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
DSSAT ©1983–2009 International Consortium for Agricultural Systems Applications.
References
Adams WA (1973) The effect of organic matter on the bulk and true densities of some uncultivated podzolic soils. J Soil Sci 24:10–17
Adiku SGK, Narh S, Jones JW, Laryea KB, Dowuona GN (2008) Short-term effects of crop rotation, residue management, and soil water on carbon mineralization in a tropical cropping system. Plant Soil 311:29–38
Andales AA, Batchelor WD, Anderson CE, Farnham DE, Whigham DK (2000) Incorporating tillage effects into a soybean model. Agric Syst 66:69–98
Bado BV, Sedogo MP, Lompo F, Bationo A (2004) Long-term effects of crop rotations and fertilizer applications on soil organic carbon, N recovery, soil properties and crop yields in Soudanian and Guinean zones of West Africa. Regional Scientific Workshop on Land Management for Carbon Sequestration, Bamako, Mali, 26–27 February 2004
Battacharyya T, Chandran P, Ray SK, Mandal C, Pal DK, Venugopalan MV, Durge SL, Srivastava P, Dubey PN, Kamble GK, Sharma RP, Wani SP, Rego TJ, Pathak P, Ramesh V, Manna MC, Sahrawat KL (2007) Physical and chemical properties of selected benchmark spots for carbon sequestration studies in semi-arid tropics of India. Global Theme on Agroecosystems Report no. 35. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India; and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, India, 236 pp
Boote KJ, Jones JW, Mishoe JW, Berger RD (1983) Coupling pests to crop growth simulators to predict yield reductions. Phytopathology 73(11):1581–1587
Bostick WM, Bado BV, Bationo A, Tojo Soler C, Hoogenboom G, Jones JW (2006) Soil carbon dynamics and crop residue yields of cropping systems in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Burkina Faso. Soil Tillage Res 93:138–151
Bouman BAM, Van Keulen H, Van Laar HH, Rabbinge R (1996) The ‘School of De Wit’ crop growth simulation models: a pedigree and historical overview. Agric Syst 52:171–198
Bowen WT, Jones JW, Carsky RJ, Quintana JO (1993) Evaluation of the nitrogen submodel of CERES-Maize following legume green manure incorporation. Agron J 85(1):153–159
Brisson N, Gary C, Justes E, Roche R, Mary B, Ripoche D, Zimmer D, Sierra J, Bertuzzi P, Burger P, Bussière F, Cabidoche YM, Cellier P, Debaeke P, Gaudillère JP, Hénault C, Maraux F, Seguin B, Sinoquet H (2003) An overview of the crop model STICS. Eur J Agron 18:309–332
Dadoun FA (1993) Modeling tillage effects on soil physical properties and maize (Zea mays, L.) development and growth. Unpublished PhD thesis, Michigan State University, MI
De Wit CT, Goudriaan J (1974) Simulation of ecological processes. Simulation monographs, Pudoc, Wageningen, 159 pp
De Wit CT, Goudriaan J, Van Laar HH, Penning de Vries FWT, Rabbinge R, Van Keulen H, Louwerse W, Sibma L, De Jonge C (1978) Simulation of assimilation, respiration and transpiration of crops. Simulation Monographs, Pudoc, Wageningen, 148 pp
Duxbury JM (2006) Develop practical methods to measure gains and losses of soil organic C over time in spatially variable soils in South Asia: development of soil C-texture relationships. In: Soil Management Collaborative Research Support Program, Project Year 9 annual progress report. Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences Department, University of Hawaii., pp 59–60. http://tpss.hawaii.edu/sm-crsp/pubs/pdf/AR9_FinalReport.pdf
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (2004) Assessing carbon stocks and modelling win-win scenarios of carbon sequestration through land-use changes. FAO, Rome, Italy, 156 pp. ISBN 92-5-105168-5
Gijsman AJ, Hoogenboom G, Parton WJ, Kerridge PC (2002) Modifying DSSAT crop models for low-input agricultural systems using a soil organic matter-residue module from CENTURY. Agron J 94:462–474
Godwin DC, Singh U et al (1998) Nitrogen balance and crop response to nitrogen in upland and lowland cropping systems. In: Tsuji GY et al (eds) Understanding options for agricultural production. System approaches for sustainable agricultural development. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 55–77
Gupta SC, Larson WE (1979) Estimating soil water retention characteristics from particle size distribution, organic matter content and bulk density. Water Resour Res 15(6):1633–1635
Hoogenboom G, Jones JW, Wilkens PW, Porter CH, Batchelor WD, Hunt LA, Boote KJ, Singh U, Uryasev O, Bowen WT, Gijsman AJ, du Toit AS, White JW, Tsuji GY (2004) Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer Version 4.0 [CD-ROM]. University of Hawaii, Honolulu
Hoogenboom G, Jones JW, Wilkens PW, Porter CH, Hunt LA, Boote KJ, Singh U, Uryasev O, Lizaso JI, Gijsman AJ, White JW, Batchelor WD, Tsuji GY (2009) Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer Version 4.5 [CD-ROM]. University of Hawaii, Honolulu
Izaurralde RC, Williams JR, McGill WB, Rosenberg NJ, Quiroga Jakas MC (2006) Simulating soil C dynamics with EPIC: model description and testing against long-term data. Ecol Modell 192:362–384
Jenkinson DS, Rayner JH (1977) Turnover of soil organic-matter in some of Rothamsted classical experiments. Soil Sci 123:298–305
Jenkinson DS, Hart PBS, Rayner JH, Parry LC (1987) Modelling the turnover of organic matter in long-term experiments at Rothamsted. INTECOL Bull 15:1–8
Jones JW, Keating BA, Porter CH (2001) Approaches to modular model development. Agric Syst 70:421–443
Jones JW, Hoogenboom G, Porter CH, Boote KJ, Batchelor WD, Hunt LA, Wilkens PW, Singh U, Gijsman AJ, Ritchie JT (2003) The DSSAT cropping system model. Eur J Agron 18:235–265
Keating BA, Carberry PS, Hammer GL, Probert ME, Robertson MJ, Holzworth D, Huth NI, Hargreaves JNG, Meinke H, Hochman Z, McLean G, Verburg K, Snow V, Dimes JP, Silburn M, Wang E, Brown S, Bristow KL, Asseng S, Chapman S, McCown RL, Freebairn DM, Smith CJ (2003) An overview of APSIM, a model designed for farming systems simulation. Eur J Agron 18:267–288
Kiem R (2002) Characterization of refractory soil organic matter in long term agroecosystem experiments. PhD Thesis, Lehrstuhl fuer Bodekunde, Technische Universität München, Germany, 184 pp
Koo J (2007) Estimating Soil Carbon Sequestration in Ghana. PhD Dissertation, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, pp 198
Lal R (1976) Soil erosion problems on Alfisols in western Nigeria and their control. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Monograph 1, 208 pp
Lal R (1995) Sustainable management of soil resources in the humid tropics. United Nations University Press. Tokyo. http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu27se/uu27se00.htm
Lal R (2007) Carbon management in agricultural soils. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 12:303–322
Lloyd J, Taylor JA (1994) On the temperature dependence of soil respiration. Funct Ecol 8:315–323
Lobe I, Amelung W, Du Preez CC (2001) Losses of carbon and nitrogen with prolonged arable cropping from sandy soils of the South African Highveld. Eur J Soil Sci 52:93–101
McCown RL, Hammer GL, Hargreaves JNG, Holzworth DP, Freebairn DM (1996) APSIM: a novel software system for model development, model testing, and simulation in agricultural systems research. Agric Syst 50:255–271
McGill WB (1996) Review and classification of ten soil organic matter (SOM) models. In: Powslon DS, Smith P, Smith JU (eds) Evaluation of soil organic matter models using existing long-term datasets. NATO ASI Series I, vol 38. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, pp 111–132
Monod H, Naud C, Makowski D (2006) Chapter 3. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis for crop models. In: Wallach D, Makowski D, Jones JW (eds) Working with dynamic crop models; evaluation, analysis, parameterization, and applications. Elsevier B.V, Amsterdam
Parton WJ, Schimel DS, Cole CV, Ojima DS (1987) Analysis of factors controlling soil organic matter levels in Great Plains grasslands. Soil Sci Soc Am J 51:1173–1179
Parton WJ, Stewart JWB, Cole CV (1988) Dynamics of C, N, P and S in grassland soils: a model. Biogeochemistry 5:109–131
Parton WJ, McKeown B, Kirchner V, Ojima DS (1992) CENTURY users manual. Colorado State University, NREL Publication, Fort Collins
Parton WJ, Ojima DS, Cole CV, Schimel DS (1994) A general model for soil organic matter dynamics: sensitivity to litter chemistry, texture and management. In: Bryant RB, Arnold RW (eds) Quantitative modeling of soil forming processes. Soil Science Society of America, Special Publication No. 39, Madison, WI, pp 147–167
Porter C, Jones JW, Braga R (2000) An approach for modular crop model development. International Consortium for Agricultural Systems Applications, Honolulu, HI, p 13. Available from http://icasa.net/modular/index.html
Ritchie JT, Porter CH, Judge J, Jones JW, Suleiman AA (2009) Extension of an existing model for soil water evaporation and redistribution under high water content conditions. Soil Sci Soc Am J 73:792–801
Scopel E, Da Silva FAM, Corbeels M, Affholder F, Maraux F (2004) Modelling crop residue mulching effects on water use and production of maize under semi-arid and humid tropical conditions. Agronomie 24:383–395
SCS (Soil Conservation Service) (1985) National Engineering Handbook Section 4: hydrology. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington
Shaxson F, Barber R (2003) Optimizing soil moisture for plant production, the significance of soil porosity. Food & Agriculture Organization Soils Bulletin 79. FAO, Rome
Smith P, Smith JU, Powlson DS, McGill WB, Arah JRM, Chertov OG, Coleman K, Franko U, Frolking S, Jenkinson DS, Jensen LS, Kelly RH, Klein-Gunnewiek H, Komarov AS, Li C, Molina JAE, Mueller T, Parton WJ, Thornley JHM, Whitmore AP (1997) A comparison of the performance of nine soil organic matter models using datasets from seven long-term experiments. Geoderma 81:153–225
Tsuji GY, Uehara G, Balas S (eds) (1994) Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) Version 3. University of Hawaii, Honolulu
Van Ittersum MK, Leffelaar PA, Van Keulen H, Kropff MJ, Bastiaans L, Goudriaan J (2003) On approaches and applications of the Wageningen crop models. Eur J Agron 18:201–234
Zhao L, Sun Y, Zhang X, Yang X, Drury CF (2006) Soil organic carbon in clay and silt-sized particles in Chinese mollisols: relationship to the predicted capacity. Geoderma 132:315–323
Zinn LY, Lal R, Bigham JM, Resck DVS (2007) Edaphic controls on soil organic carbon retention on Brazilian Cerrado: texture and mineralogy. Soil Sci Soc Am J 71:1204–1214
Acknowledgments
This paper was partially supported by the Office of Natural Resources Management and Office of Agriculture in the Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development, under terms of Grant No. LAG-G-00-97-00002-00.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12351-014-0143-z.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Porter, C.H., Jones, J.W., Adiku, S. et al. Modeling organic carbon and carbon-mediated soil processes in DSSAT v4.5. Oper Res Int J 10, 247–278 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-009-0059-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-009-0059-1