Other Abstract | Wheat and corn are the two major crops at the Loess Plateau of China. In this
region, water requirements of crops are mainly met by rainfall. However, rainfall is
scarce in this area. In order to increase the water use efficiency and yields, scientific
field management is necessary. However, good field management schedules are
usually based on field experiments, which are expensive and laborious. On the
contrary, crop models proven may represent the actual growth process of crops
accurately, with the features of time-saving, highly repeatability, and low costs if
compared with field experiments. So far, major crop models are usually complicated
and need a lot of input parameters, and are not always feasible for diverse locations
and cultivars. These disadvantages have limited the range of model applications and
increased the difficulties in model calibration and validation. The water–driven
AquaCrop model, released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (UN-FAO), requires less input parameters and is easy and robust to use. Thus,
the AquaCrop model is a practical model for usage. In this thesis, calibration and
validation of the AquaCrop model was conducted using data obtained from field
experiments with spring maize and winter wheat. Then, the relationship between crop
yields and soil water content on the Loess Plateau was analyzed in order to extend the
range of AquaCrop model applications and establish the principles for filed
management. Main results of this thesis are summarized as follows:
(1) AquaCrop model can simulate the yield, canopy cover, biomass, and soil
water content of winter wheat well at the Loess Plateau and the simulated results of yield and canopy were better than other output variables. The ranges of root mean
square errors (RMSE) were 0.16-0.38 t/ha, 1.87-4.15%, 0.50-1.44 t/ha, and 5.70-22.56
mm for biomass, canopy cover, yields, and soil water content at 1.8 m soil depth,
respectively. The index of agreement of Willmott (d) of biomass, canopy cover, soil
water content and yields were 0.22-0.89, 0.25-0.43, 0.36-0.62, and 0.95-0.98,
respectively. The results of statistic analyses confirmed that AquaCrop model is
applicable and the parameters chosen for the Loess Plateau were also accurate.
(2) A program of image analysis was designed with the MATLAB software for
analyzing canopy cover of winter wheat in the process of model operation. The
coefficient of determination (R 2 ) was 0.98 for the comparison between the results
analyzed with this program and the results analyzed with the Samplepoint software.
(3) The AquaCrop model was calibrated and validated with the experimental data
of spring maize obtained from the researches conducted at the gully region of
Changwu County and hilly and gully region of Ansai County at the Loess Plateau of
China. The results of model simulations demonstrated that the AquaCrop model can
simulate the expansion of canopy cover and soil water content well before the stage of
senescence and poorly after the senescence. For yields, the results of model
simulation were satisfactory when the parameter WP*(normalized biomass water
productivity)was 33. With respect of evapotranspiration (ET), the AquaCrop model
was not able to simulate the variations of ET accurately within short periods of time,
but it was able to simulate the variations of ET well for the whole growth season.
Using the RMSE and d analyzed the results of model simulation. The range of RMSE
was 1.87-82.84mm, 12.09-71.23mm, 0.12-1.03t/ha, 1.22-8.3% successively. And the
range of d was 0.69-0.99, 0.68-0.84, 0.59-0.97, 0.70-0.80 successively.
(4) The canopy cover, yields and soil water content of winter wheat and spring
maize, which were simulated with AquaCrop model, agreed well with the
observations. But the model was not able to simulate accurately the ET values within
short time, but it can simulate the ET values well for the whole growth seasons of
maize. In general, the AquaCrop model can simulate the growth of crops and the
estimation of model parameters was accurate, especially for the parameters of WP* and p, at the Loess Plateau. Through simulations, the AquaCrop model accurately
elucidated the relationship between crop growth and water consumption.
Key words: AquaCrop model; calibration; validation; winter wheat; spring maize;
Loess Plateau; image analysis |
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