Applying double cropping and interactive irrigation in the North China Plain using WRF4.5
Journal
Geoscientific Model Development
Journal Volume
17
Journal Issue
18
Start Page
6929
End Page
6947
ISSN
1991-9603
Date Issued
2024-09-18
Author(s)
Abstract
Irrigated cultivation exerts a significant influence on the local climate and the hydrological cycle. The North China Plain (NCP) is known for its intricate agricultural system, marked by expansive cropland, high productivity, compact rotation, a semi-arid climate, and intensive irrigation practices. As a result, there has been considerable attention on the potential impact of this intensive irrigated agriculture on the local climate. However, studying the irrigation impact in this region has been challenging due to the lack of an accurate simulation of crop phenology and irrigation practices within the climate model. By incorporating double cropping with interactive irrigation, our study extends the capabilities of the Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model, which has previously demonstrated commendable performance in simulating single-cropping scenarios. This allows for two-way feedback between irrigated crops and climate, further enabling the inclusion of irrigation feedback from both ground and vegetation perspectives. The improved crop modeling system shows significant enhancement in capturing vegetation and irrigation patterns, which is evidenced by its ability to identify crop stages, estimate field biomass, predict crop yield, and project monthly leaf area index. The improved simulation of large-scale irrigated crops in the NCP can further enhance our understanding of the intricate relationship between agricultural development and climate change.
Subjects
agricultural development
climate change
crop yield
double cropping
irrigation system
leaf area index
phenology
weather forecasting
China
North China Plain
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Type
journal article