The AquaCrop model – Enhancing crop water productivity

Presenting AquaCrop state-of-the-art, it is our hope that this report provides valuable information about the relevance of the tools and a guidance for the improvement and the new developments of the model, as well as for improving and extending its applications, always focusing on the progress of the management and productivity of the precious water resources. [...] The water balance The process of assessing the efficiency of water use at the scale of a cropped field and at higher scales up to the basin level is governed by a fundamental process, the water balance. [...] The advent of computers facilitated the calculations needed to mimic the dynamic behavior of a crop and the integration and feedback loops needed to characterize the different processes involved in the growth, development and yield of crop plants. [...] The water-driven growth-engine Referring to the initial structure of the linkages between solar radiation, biomass and transpiration, and the underlying processes depicted in Figure 2.2, it is possible to show that the water-driven growth-engine avoids the path (a) of the previous two engines (the carbon-driven and the solar-driven) adopting a completely new approach, corresponding to the path (c). [...] The extent to which salts accumulate in the soil depends on the quality and quantity of the irrigation water, the frequency of wetting, the adequacy of leaching, the magnitude of soil evaporation and crop transpiration, the soil physical characteristics of the various layers of the soil profile, and the salt content and depth of the groundwater table.