Asseng, e al., 2015, Open Da a Jou nal o Ag icul u al Resea ch, ol. 1, pg. 1-5
1
Benchma k da a se o whea g ow h models: ield
expe imen s and AgMIP mul i-model simula ions
S. Asseng1*, F. Ewe 2, P. Ma e3,4, C. Rosenzweig5, J.W. Jones1, J.L. Ha ield6, A.C. Ruane5, K.J.
Boo e7, P.J. Tho bu n8, R.P. Rö e 9, D. Camma ano1, N. B isson10,11,#, B. Basso12, P.K. Agga wal13, C.
Angulo2, P. Be uzzi14, C. Bie na h15, A.J. Challino 16,40, J. Dol a17, S. Gayle 18, R. Goldbe g5, R. G an 19,
L. Heng20, J. Hooke 21, L.A. Hun 22, J. Ingwe sen23, R.C. Izau alde24, K.C. Ke sebaum25, C. Mülle 26, S.
Na esh Kuma 27, C. Nendel25, G. O’Lea y28, J.E. Olesen29, T.M. Osbo ne30, T. Palosuo9, E. P iesack15, D.
Ripoche14, M.A. Semeno 31, I. Shche bak12, P. S edu o32, C. S öckle33, P. S a ono i ch31, T. S eck23, I.
Supi 34, F. Tao35, M. T a asso36, K. Waha26, D. Wallach37, J.W. Whi e38, J.R. Williams39 and J. Wol 34
1Ag icul u al & Biological Enginee ing Depa men , Uni e si y o Flo ida, Gaines ille, FL 32611, USA,
email: sasseng@u l.edu,
2Ins i u e o C op Science and Resou ce Conse a ion INRES, Uni e si y o Bonn, 53115, Ge many,
3INRA, UMR1095 Gene ic, Di e si y and Ecophysiology o Ce eals (GDEC), F-63 100 Cle mon -Fe and,
F ance,
4Now a INRA, UMR759 Labo a oi e d'Ecophysiologie des Plan es sous S ess En i onnemen aux, Place
Viala, F-34 060 Mon pellie , F ance,
5NASA Godda d Ins i u e o Space S udies, New Yo k, NY 10025,
6Na ional Labo a o y o Ag icul u e and En i onmen , Ames, IA 50011,
7Depa men o Ag onomy, Uni e si y o Flo ida, Gaines ille, FL 32611-0500, USA,
8CSIRO Ecosys em Sciences, Du on Pa k QLD 4102, Aus alia,
9Plan P oduc ion Resea ch, MTT Ag i ood Resea ch Finland, FI-50100 Mikkeli, Finland,
10INRA, UMR0211 Ag onomie, F- 78 750 Thi e al-G ignon, F ance,
11Ag oPa isTech, UMR0211 Ag onomie, F- 78 750 Thi e al-G ignon, F ance,
12Depa men o Geological Sciences and W.K. Kellogg Biological S a ion, Michigan S a e Uni e si y Eas
Lansing, Michigan 48823, USA,
13CCAFS, IWMI, NASC Complex, DPS Ma g, New Delhi 12, India,
14INRA, US1116 Ag oClim, F- 84 914 A ignon, F ance, 15Ins i u e o Soil Ecology, Helmhol z Zen um
München - Ge man Resea ch Cen e o En i onmen al Heal h, Neuhe be g, D-85764,
Ge many16Ins i u e o Clima e and A mosphe ic Science, School o Ea h and En i onmen , Uni e si y o
Leeds, Leeds LS29JT, UK,
17Ag icul u al Resea ch and T aining Cen e (CIFA), Can ab ia Go e nmen , 39600 Mu iedas, Spain,
18WESS-Wa e & Ea h Sys em Science Compe ence Clus e , Uni e si y o Tübingen, 727074 Tübingen,
Ge many,
19Depa men o Renewable Resou ces, Uni e si y o Albe a, Edmon on, AB, Canada T6G 2E3,
20IAEA, Vienna, Aus ia,
21Ag icul u e Depa men , Uni e si y o Reading, Reading, RG66AR, UK,
22Depa men o Plan Ag icul u e, Uni e si y o Guelph, Guelph, On a io, Canada, N1G 2W1,
23Ins i u e o Soil Science and Land E alua ion, Uni e si ä Hohenheim, 70599 S u ga , 24Join Global
Change Resea ch Ins i u e, College Pa k, MD 20740, USA, 25Ins i u e o Landscape Sys ems Analysis,
Leibniz Cen e o Ag icul u al Landscape Resea ch, 15374 Münchebe g, Ge many,
26Po sdam Ins i u e o Clima e Impac Resea ch, 14473 Po sdam, Ge many,
27Di ision o En i onmen al Sciences, Indian Ag icul u al Resea ch Ins i u e, IARI PUSA, New Delhi 110
012, India,
28Landscape & Wa e Sciences, Depa men o P ima y Indus ies, Ho sham 3400, Aus alia,
29Depa men o Ag oecology, Aa hus Uni e si y, 8830, Tjele, Denma k,
30NCAS-Clima e, Walke Ins i u e, Uni e si y o Reading, RG6 6BB, UK,
31Compu a ional and Sys ems Biology Depa men , Ro hams ed Resea ch, Ha penden, He s, AL5 2JQ,
UK,
32FAO, Rome, I aly,
33Biological Sys ems Enginee ing, Washing on S a e Uni e si y, Pullman, WA 99164-6120,
34Plan P oduc ion Sys ems & Ea h Sys em Science-Clima e Change, Wageningen Uni e si y, 6700AA
Wageningen, The Ne he lands,
Asseng, e al., 2015, Open Da a Jou nal o Ag icul u al Resea ch, ol. 1, pg. 1-5
2
35Ins i u e o Geog aphical Sciences and Na u al Resou ces Resea ch, Chinese Academy o Science,
Beijing 100101, China,
36Ins i u e o Clima e and Wa e , INTA-CIRN, 1712 Cas ela , A gen ina,
37INRA, UMR 1248 Ag osys èmes e dé eloppemen e i o ial (AGIR), 31326 Cas ane -Tolosan Cedex,
F ance,
38A id-Land Ag icul u al Resea ch Cen e , Ma icopa, AZ 85138, USA, 39Texas A&M Uni e si y, USA,
40 CGIAR-ESSP P og am on Clima e Change, Ag icul u e and Food Secu i y, In e na ional Cen e o
T opical Ag icul u e (CIAT), A.A. 6713, Cali, Colombia.
* email: sasseng@u l.edu
# D . Nadine B isson passed away in 2011 while his wo k was being ca ied ou .
Abs ac : The da a se includes a cu en ep esen a i e managemen ea men om de ailed, quali y-
es ed sen inel ield expe imen s wi h whea om ou con as ing en i onmen s including Aus alia, The
Ne he lands, India and A gen ina. Measu emen s include local daily clima e da a (sola adia ion,
maximum and minimum empe a u e, p ecipi a ion, su ace wind, dew poin empe a u e, ela i e
humidi y, and apo p essu e), soil cha ac e is ics, equen g ow h, ni ogen in c op and soil, c op and
soil wa e and yield componen s. Simula ions include esul s om 27 whea models and a sensi i i y
analysis wi h 26 models and 30 yea s (1981-2010) o each loca ion, o ele a ed a mosphe ic CO2 and
empe a u e changes, a hea s ess sensi i i y analysis a an hesis, and a sensi i i y analysis wi h soil and
c op managemen a ia ions and a Global Clima e Model end-cen u y scena io.
Keywo ds: whea , ield expe imen al da a, simula ions, sensi i i y analysis, clima e change impac
1 ORIGINAL PURPOSE: The o iginal pu pose o his da a se was a model in e compa ison o he
AgMIP-Whea Pilo as pa o he Ag icul u al Model In e compa ison and Imp o emen p ojec
(h p://www.agmip.o g/). The ield expe imen al da a we e selec ed om local ep esen a i e, high-quali y
ield expe imen al da a se s wi h a g ain yield ange om 2 o 8 ha-1. The o iginal expe imen s we e o
speci ic ag onomic s udies and included measu emen s o c op-model- eady single ea men s o whea
expe imen s a ou con as ing loca ions, including a loca ion in The Ne he lands (Wageningen (G oo
and Willigen 1991)), A gen ina (Balca ce (T a asso, Rod iguez and G ondona 1995)), India (New Delhi
(Na een 1986)), and Aus alia (Wongan Hills (Asseng e al. 1998)) ep esen ing a wide ange o g owing
condi ions. The da a we e quali y-checked and conside ed high-quali y sen inel si es. The expe imen al
da a we e used in obse a ion-model compa isons and as he ounda ion o a sensi i i y and unce ain y
analysis o clima e change impac assessmen s. The s udy was published by Asseng e al. (2013) and
Ma e e al. (2014). De ails o he ield and simula ed expe imen al design a e supplied in he
Supplemen a y o Asseng e al. (2013) and Ma e e al. (2014). A subse o he da a was also published
by Challino e al. (2014). Obse ed a iables include g ain yield ( ha-1), an hesis da e (DOY); ma u i y
da e (DOY), g ain N (kg N ha-1); g ains pe squa e me e (# m-2); cumula i e e apo anspi a ion (mm);
cumula i e N mine aliza ion (kg N ha-1); plan a ailable soil wa e o maximum oo ing dep h (mm); soil
mine al N o maximum oo ing dep h (kg N ha-1). No e, ha no all measu emen s we e a ailable ac oss
all ou expe imen s.
2 SIMULATION OF FIELD EXPERIMENTS: Simula ions o he ou expe imen s we e ca ied ou by 27
whea models (see Supplemen a y o Asseng e al. (2013)). The annual simula ion ou pu s included: g ain
yield ( ha-1); abo e-g ound biomass a an hesis (kg ha-1); abo e-g ound biomass a ma u i y (kg ha-1);
maximum lea a ea index (LAI, m2 m-2); an hesis da e (DOY); ma u i y da e (DOY); cumula i e soil N
leaching (kg N ha-1); cumula i e soil wa e loss (mm); o al abo e-g ound N a an hesis (kg N ha-1); o al
abo e-g ound N a ma u i y (kg N ha-1); g ain N (kg N ha-1); numbe o g ains pe squa e me e (# m-2);
cumula i e e apo anspi a ion (mm); cumula i e N mine aliza ion (kg N ha-1); cumula i e N ola iliza ion
(kg N ha-1); cumula i e N immobiliza ion (kg N ha-1); cumula i e N deni i ica ion (kg N ha-1); plan
a ailable soil wa e o maximum oo ing dep h (mm); soil mine al N o maximum oo ing dep h (kg N ha-1).
Asseng, e al., 2015, Open Da a Jou nal o Ag icul u al Resea ch, ol. 1, pg. 1-5
3
Table 1. Layou o he ield expe imen s. Modi ied a e Asseng e al. (2013).
Expe imen
Coun y
The Ne he lands
A gen ina
India
Aus alia
Loca ion
Wageningen
Balca ce
New Delhi
Wongan Hills
La i ude (°)
51.97
-37.5
28.38
-30.89
Longi ude (°)
5.63
-58.3
77.12
116.72
En i onmen high-yielding long-
season
high/medium-
yielding medium-
season
i iga ed sho -
season low-yielding ain-
ed sho -season
Mean g owing season
No .-July
Jun.-Dec.
No .-Ap il
May-Dec.
Soil ype
Sil y clay loam
Clay loam
Sandy loam
Loamy sand
Cul i a name
A minda
Oasis
HD 2009
Gamenya
Expe imen al yea
1982/83
1992
1984/85
1984
Mean g owing season
empe a u e (°C)
8.8 13.7 17.3 14.0
Mean g owing season
p ecipi a ion (mm)
595 336 383* 164
* Includes 383 mm o i iga ion.
Each o he 27 whea models was used o simula e he ield expe imen s in wo sepa a e s eps: 1) wi h
limi ed in-season in o ma ion om he expe imen s being made a ailable o he modele s (pa ial
calib a ion o ‘blind’ simula ions), and 2) all a ailable in o ma ion being made a ailable o he modele s
( ull calib a ion). Simula ions wi h pa ially calib a ed models we e included o allow a mo e objec i e
model assessmen . Fo he pa ial calib a ion o ‘blind model es ’, modele s had no access o
measu emen s o g ain yield, biomass, and c op wa e and N dynamics, ecei ing in o ma ion only on soil
cha ac e is ics, ini ial soil-wa e condi ions, daily wea he da a, c op managemen , and lowe ing and
ma u i y da es. Fo ull calib a ion, modele s had access o all a ailable measu emen s, including wi hin-
season and inal biomass, wa e and N up ake, soil wa e and soil N, g ain yield and yield componen s.
3 MODEL SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS: In addi ion o simula ions o he single-yea expe imen s,
simula ions we e ca ied ou wi h long- e m measu ed daily clima e da a (sola adia ion, maximum and
minimum empe a u e, p ecipi a ion, su ace wind, dew poin empe a u e, ela i e humidi y, and apo
p essu e) using measu ed soil cha ac e is ics, measu ed ini ial soil wa e and soil N con en s, c op
managemen , measu ed an hesis and ma u i y da es om he single-yea -expe imen s. Fo he baseline,
daily clima e da a o he pe iod 1980-2010 we e used o all loca ions (31 yea s o clima e da a a e
equi ed o simula e 30 yea s o yields in The Ne he lands and India). Fo he loca ion in India, sola
adia ion was ob ained om he NASA/POWER da ase ha ex ends back o 1983
(h p://powe .la c.nasa.go ). Missing da a o 1980 o 1983 we e illed in using he Wea he man ool
included in DSSAT 4.5. In addi ion, 2-me e wind speed (km d-1), dew poin empe a u e (ºC), apo
p essu e (hPa), and ela i e humidi y (%) we e es ima ed o each loca ion om he NASA Mode n E a
Re ospec i e-Analysis o Resea ch and Applica ions (MERRA). Fo he loca ion in The Ne he lands,
measu ed wind speed and apo p essu e we e a ailable. In he sensi i i y analysis, daily empe a u es
we e changed in s eps o 3°C om -3 o +9°C and a mosphe ic CO2 concen a ions we e changed in
s eps o 90 ppm om 360 o 720 ppm. In addi ion, a sensi i i y analysis o hea s ess impac was ca ied
ou wi h he 1981-2010 clima e da a by in oducing se en days o maximum empe a u e o 35°C s a ing
a he measu ed an hesis day o each loca ion. In a sensi i i y analysis on a ia ions in soil and c op
managemen , a each loca ion, he plan -a ailable wa e -holding capaci y o he local soil was a ied by
+/- 20%, he c op sowing da e was a ied by +/- 20 days and N- e ilise applica ions we e a ied by +/-
50% and simula ed wi h he baseline (1981-2010) and a Global Clima e Model end-cen u y scena io.
Asseng, e al., 2015, Open Da a Jou nal o Ag icul u al Resea ch, ol. 1, pg. 1-5
4
Table 2. Layou o he AgMIP Pilo simula ions
Simula ion s eps
Desc ip ion
Model
ou pu
Simula ion ile name
Expe imen al yea , low
in o ma ion
Simula ion o he ou single
ea men expe imen s wi h low p io
in o ma ion (limi ed calib a ion)
Daily and
summa y
1.1_expe imen _yea s_(annual
summa y_low_and_all_in o). x
1.2_expe imen _yea s_(dynamic
s_low_and_all_in o ma ion). x
Baseline 30-yea s
simula ion, low in o ma ion
30-yea s simula ions wi h baseline
(pas ) wea he da a and low p io
in o ma ion (limi ed calib a ion
Summa y
2_30_yea s_simula ions_(low_an
d_all_in o ma ion). x
Expe imen al yea , all
in o ma ion
Simula ion o he ou single
ea men expe imen s wi h all p io
in o ma ion ( ull calib a ion)
Daily and
summa y
1.1_expe imen _yea s_(annual
summa y_low_and_all_in o). x
1.2_expe imen _yea s_(dynamic
s_low_and_all_in o ma ion). x
Baseline 30-yea s
simula ion, all in o ma ion
30-yea s simula ions wi h baseline
(pas ) wea he da a and all p io
in o ma ion ( ull calib a ion)
Summa y
2_30_yea s_simula ions_(low_an
d_all_in o ma ion). x
Limi ed ac o s sensi i i y
analysis, all in o ma ion
Fac o ial manipula ion o CO
2
(360,
450, 540, 630, 720 ppm) ,
empe a u e (-3, 0, 3, 6, 9°C) N (-
50%,100% and 150% o expe imen ),
ac o s o 30 yea s o baseline
wea he
Summa y
3_SA_limi ed_ ac o s_(all_in o m
a ion). x
Special ac o sensi i i y
analysis, all in o ma ion
Baseline (360 ppm CO
2
) and end-o -
cen u y (single A2 scena io; 734 ppm
CO2) wea he wi h ei he 7 days wi h
35°C maximum daily empe a u e
s a ing a obse ed an hesis da e, ±
50% N e ilize a e ( o end-o -
cen u y only), ± 20 days in sowing
da e, o ± 20% in plan a ailable soil
wa e (changed d ained lowe limi )
Summa y
4_SA_special_ ac o s_(all_in o m
a ion). x
Model inpu (cul i a in o ma ion and c op managemen ), soil desc ip ion and ini ial condi ions da a o
simula ion se up a e in Excel sp eadshee s p o ided wi h he da a. All simula ion esul s a e in ex iles
( ab delimi ed). The ile name and a iable names a e explained in Excel sp eadshee s as pa o he da a
se .
Asseng, e al., 2015, Open Da a Jou nal o Ag icul u al Resea ch, ol. 1, pg. 1-5
5
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