Fallow Water Balance

In this exercise you will explore the major elements of interest in soil water balance during a
fallow - soil water storage, drainage, runoff, and evaporation. Changes will be examined over a
one year period in the Bhola district of southern Bangladesh. The examples assume you have
read and walked through the document: Introduction to APSIM UI
It is suggested that you first create a custom worshop directory: c:\Apsim_workshop for saving
the simulations generated from these exercises.

Create a sub-directory: c:\Apsim_workshop\met_files to store your APSIM weather files.

Note: You may want to copy the two weather files that are required to complete these exercises,
Bhola_1998-07.met and Dinajpur.met into your workshop met file directory from: C:\Program
Files\Apsim73\Examples\MetFiles.
1. Create a new simulation using a blank simulation as a starting point
2. Choose a weather file for Bhola (Bhola_1998-07.met)
Note: Weather files can be found in the directory: C:\Program
Files\Apsim73\Examples\MetFiles or in c:\Apsim_workshop\met_files.
3. Starting date: 1/1/2001 Ending date: 31/12/2001
4. Rename paddock node to field
5. Add a soil to the field node. A suitable soil characterised for the Bhola region would be : "North
Joynags-06 No673.
6. From Soils toolbox, find and drag a Southern Bangladesh, Bhola district Silt, (Wheat PAWC =
138.5 mm, 1.5m) soil description onto the field node of the simulation tree, (located under Soils
> Bangladesh > Southern Bangladesh > Bhola > Silt (North Joynags-06 No673)). Rename
the soil to something shorter like Silt.
7. Set the starting water to 100% full - filled from the top. (expand the soil branch to see InitWater
i.e. click the "+" next to Silt)
8. At the Initial nitrogen node, set the starting NO3 to 10 kg/ha (i.e. 6 and 4 in the 0-20 and 20-200
layers) and starting NH4 to 5 kg/ha (i.e. 4 and 1 in the two layers)
9. Add Surface organic Matter to the field:
From Standard Toolbox Soil related, drag a Surface Organic Matter component onto the field
node
10. Check that the default initial OM pool name is rice_stubble and OM type is rice and the mass is
0 kg/ha. (at "surface Organic matter" node)
11. From the standard Toolbox, drag a Outputfile onto the field node

12. Select the outputfile's Variables subcomponent. Choose these variables to report:
Component

Variable name

Clock

dd/mm/yyyy as Date
Year
Day

Met
Silt

Rain
ESW - Extractable soil water (mm)
ES Evaporation
Runoff

Surface organic
matter

DRAIN Drainage
NO3 - summed over profile (Do this
by putting () next to the name in the
"Variable name" column) eg. no3()
(click "?" button next to variable list for
more info)
DLT_N_MIN - N mineralised summed over profile
SURFACEOM_WT - Weight of all
surface organic materials.
SURFACEOM_COVER - Fraction of
ground covered by all surface organic
materials.

13. Select the "Outputfile" Reporting Frequency subcomponent. Delete "daily". Choose end_day
reporting frequency for the output file. This can be found under the Clock component filter
14. Rename the simulation to something more meaningful: Silt Fallow
15. Save the simulation file as "c:\Apsim_workshop\Fallow water balance.apsim"
16. Run the simulation by pressing the "Run" button at the top of the ApsimUI.
17. Create a graph of Date vs ESW.
Hint: To do this, click on the Graph Toolbox at the bottom of the window to open the toolbox.
Then drag in an XY component onto the output file in your simulation. Click on the "+" symbol
next to XY component to expand the node. Click on the Plot component. In the Plot window click
on the X variables square to make sure the background of the square is pink. Now click on the
"Date" column heading. It should appear in the list in the square. Now click on the Y variables
square to make its background pink. Click on the esw column heading. It will be added to the Y
variables square. To have a clean line plotted with no points, under "Point type", choose "None".
Now click on the XY component to view the graph.
18. Once you have created a chart it is possible to make modifications by adding new variables. It is
also possible to mix the type of plots used on a graph. As an example, we will add rain as a bar
chart on the Y2 axis. To do this, drag plot onto the XY node to create a duplicate, plot1. At
plot1, remove esw and add rain as the y variable. To make the "rain" appear on the right hand
axis, click rain in the square to highlight it, then "right" mouse click on it again. In the popup menu
click on "Right Hand Axis". Select bar chart from "type" drop_down menu. Select XY node to
see the line and bar chart combination.
19. Rename the XY graph node to Soil_water_storage
The graph should show the ESW (in mm) increasing with day of year. The sudden increases are
due to rainfall events and the declines to evaporation and drainage loss. The distribution of daily
rainfall amounts helps see this more clearly.

Note: You can also examine other components of the simulated soil water balance.
20. Drag Soil_water_storage to the outputfile node to make a copy of this graphics node. Rename
the copy to Runoff_drainage
21. At the Plot1 node underneath the Runoff_drainage graph, remove rain from the Y variables box.
Add runoff and drain to the Y variable box. Put both on the right hand axis (right click on the
variable) to create a plot similar to the below figure.

Runoff occurs from the start of the monsoon season early in May-June, continuing through the
wet season till Nov-Dec. Drainage begins sometime after the first runoff, once the soil profile is
near full. (Remember, PAWC for wheat in this soil is 138.5 mm, so the profile is mostly in a
saturated state whenever esw is above this limit).

Additional exercise: You could also make a plot of soil evaporation. See if you can do this for
yourself.

The effect of soil type on the water balance.

Runoff, es and drainage are affected by weather and soil water storage capacity. This simulation
will add an additional soil and compare runoff from both soil types. The user interface still
contains all the specifications provided for the previous simulation.
If you drag the Silt Fallow node in the Simulation Tree to the top node Simulations, a copy of it
will be made and your file will then have 2 simulations in it.

This second simulation can then be modified to add the characteristics of a second silt soil with
higher water holding capacity.
1. From Soils toolbox, find and drag the Bangladesh -> Southern Bangladesh -> Patuakhali district > "Silt (Shially-09 No783)" soil onto the paddock in the simulation tree and then remove the old
soil (Hint: highligh the soil to delete and press the "Delete" key. It is important you drag in a new
soil BEFORE you delete the old one, otherwise the simulation will lose all your soil reporting
variables. Also remember to rename your soil to something shorter eg Silt_2
2. Since now we have a new soil we will need to go and set the initial soil water (InitWater) to 100%
filled from top and initial soil nitrogen (Initial nitrogen) to NO3 to 10 kg/ha and NH4 to 5 kg/ha, as
before. When you delete soils you also delete the initial soil water conditions and initial soil
nitrogen conditions so these will need to be set similar to the conditions of the "Silt" soil.
3. Rename the simulation to "Silt2 Fallow".
4. Save the simulations. (C:\Apsim_workshop\)
5. Run APSIM for the Silt2 soil simulation.

6. Graph both the output files by dragging an XY graph onto the top node Simulations in the
simulation tree. By placing the XY graph under the "Simulations node", all output files in the
simulation area will be available for plotting in this case, the Silt and Silt2 outputs.
7. Create a graph of date vs esw and runoff(cumulative, right hand axis). To make the runoff
cumulative, it is the same procedure as to make the rain appear on the right hand axis. Only
select "Cumulative" from the popup menu instead of "Right Hand Axis". Set "Point Type" to
None.
The figure below includes a plot of drainage for the 2 soils. See if you can also add drain as
shown above to your esw-runoff plot. (Hint: create a plot1, do cumulative and right hand axis and
choose "circles" under Point Type)

The silt2 soil has only slightly higher runoff than the silt soil for all simulated events. Cumulative
runoff for both is similar at over 1800mm. Is this what you might expect, given the PAWC of
33mm and the same rainfall and 100% full profiles as starting conditions? What can be seen
from the accumulated drainage? Would runoff and drainage be the same if the initial PAWC for
silt2 at the start had been different? (ie. Silt2 InitWater = 50%)

Notes:

Notes:

Additional exercise: explore the effect of changing curve number on the water balance. eg. for
the silt2 soil, keep previous initial Plant Available Water Content (PAWC) settings at 50% (Silt2)
and change curve number from 94 to 84 in the Soilwat node. What is the effect on accumulated
runoff and drainage?

Changes to the water balance by ponding water on the

surface.
In the previous exercises we have investigated the APSIM water balance on free draining soils in
accumulating stored soil water and in simulating effects of runoff, drainage and soil evaporation.
The soil specified in the previous examples reflect a typical soil in a natural (cultivated or
uncultivated) state unaffected by (farmer) imposed physical constraints to the flow of water in the
landscape. Rice production particularly during the wetter months of the monsoon is grown under
paddy conditions. The natural structure of the soil surface has been modified (puddled) to reduce
drainage and bunding (ponding) imposed to reduce runoff. These conditions therefore require
some change to parameters in APSIM to simulate the effect of ponded water above the soil
surface. The following exercise will use the 'max_pond' parameter to enable ponding of surface
water and modify 'KS' (hydraulic conductivity) values for each soil layer to restrict the rate of
vertical drainage.
1. Drag Pond_depth on to the Manager Folder from "Rice Management Toolbox" -> "Rice" ->
"Manager (Pond_depth)"
2. Change properties to:
Name of your soil module: Silt
Start date for ponding: 1-Jun (Start of wet season - bunds constructed)
End date for ponding: 30-Oct (Crop maturing - open bunds)
Maximum depth of pond: 150
Minimum depth of pond: 0
Enable irrigation : No (set to No irrigation for the momemt)
Start date for irrigation: 1-Jul
End date for irrigation: 30-Oct
Maximum number of irriagtions allowed: 0
3. Edit your soil file properties - Water - KS. (hydraulic conductivity in mm/day)to:
Component

Variable name

Depth
0-15
15-30
30-60
60-90
90-120
120-150

KS
1.0
1.0
24.0
24.0
24.0
24.0

4. Add additional report variables:

Component

Variable name

Met

Rain

Soil

DUL(1)
sw(1)
no3()
Drain
Runoff

5. Drag Irrigation on to the paddock field node in the "Silt Fallow Ponding" simulation from
"Standard Toolbox" -> "Water Components (Irrigation)"
6. Run APSIM for the Silt Fallow Ponding simulation.
7. Create a graph of date vs DUL(1) and SW(1) (on Y axis) after deleting previous graphs. Rename
this new graph to Ponding.

8. Create a second graph by dragging Ponding onto your outputfile. Select runoff and drain
(Cumulative) on the Y axis. Rename this graph Drainage-Runoff.

The Ponding graph shows the drained upper limit (DUL) of the first soil layer and volumetric soil
water (sw(1)) in mm/mm for the first soil layer. Values above the DUL line indicate soil water over
the drained upper limit and represent ponded water to a level as defined by "max_pond". The
Drainage-Runoff graph presents simulated values for cumulative runoff (in excess of water
stored by "max_pond") and cumulative drainage from the bottom of the profile as effected by
"KS" input values.

Additional exercise: Explore the effect of changing 'KS' rates (mm/day) on the level of
cumulative runoff and drainage.

Tracking the decline of cover as residues decompose

APSIM simulates the influence of crop residues on the efficiency with which soil water is
captured and retained during fallows. But residue cover declines as residues decompose.
Residue decomposition is simulated in APSIM in response to weather, as well as the chemical
composition of the residues and soil. By doing this simulation you will reinforce skills learned in
previous exercises and learn to do some basic editing of default values to customise your
simulations.
This simulation will demonstrate how surface residue decomposes over time. You should use the
previous simulation as a starting point for this simulation. You need to add an initial amount of
surface residues.
1. Reopen the previous file Fallow water balance.apsim. (Hint: c:\Apsim_workshop\fallow water
balance.apsim)
2. Save the file as Residue.apsim (Reminder: don't forget to use the Save as button, NOT the
Save, or you will save these changes to Fallow water balance.apsim)
3. Remove the Silt2 Fallow simulation. We're going to use Silt Fallow as our starting point for this
exercise. Also remove the graph components. Select the graph component and press "delete" or
right click on the component and select Delete.
4. Make a copy of the Silt Fallow simulation by dragging to the top node in tree (Simulations).
5. Rename second simulation to Silt rice residue
6. Select the Surface Organic Matter node for editing:
Set Organic Matter pool name: rice_stubble.
Set Organic Matter type: rice.
Set Initial surface residue: 2000 kg/ha.
7. Run the simulation
8. Create a graph of day vs surfaceom_cover and rain(right hand axis) for the Silt rice Residue
simulation. Drag an XY graph from the "Graph toolbox" -> Graph -> "Graphs (XY)" onto the
output file, and rename it to rice_cover. Remember to set "Point type" to None. To find out how
to modify a graph see How To Modify a Graph Component

It can be seen that periods of high decomposition rate match with higher rainfall and low
decomposition with dry periods.

The effect of cover decline on runoff

In this activity, a comparison will be made between two simulations: Silt Fallow and Silt Rice
Residue.
1. Drag the rice_cover graph that we've just created onto the simulations node at the top of the tree
to create a copy.
2. Graph Date vs runoff(cumulative)
3. Rename this graph residues_runoff. Notice that data from both simulations (Silt Fallow and Silt
rice residue) appears.
4. Drag grahic node Plot to residues_runoff node to create Plot1
5. Graph rain (this time select Type = Bar )

The effect of residue type on speed of decomposition

The APSIM Surface Organic Matter model will decompose residues at differing rates according
to the C:N ratio of the material, amongst other parameters. To demonstrate this we will
reproduce the previous simulation but apply legume residues in the place of the rice straw
residues.
1. Create another copy of the Silt rice Residue simulation and call it Silt cowpea residue. Delete the
rice_cover graph
2. Select Surface Organic Matter for editing:
Set Organic Matter pool name: cowpea_stubble.
Set Organic Matter type: cowpea.
Set Initial surface residue: 2000 kg/ha.
set C:N ratio of initial residue: 20.
(Remember you may want to change the Surface Organic Matter pool name to something like
Cowpea as well)
3. Run this new simulation. (If you just select this simulation in the tree and click the run button it
will only run this simulation instead of all of them.
4. Create a new graph for Silt rice residue and Silt cowpea residue simulations with residue cover
as a function of time (eg date). Add rain to the right hand axis.
5. Rename the graph to "residue_type_cover".

Nitrogen cycling
In this exercise you will observe the fate of fertiliser nitrogen in a fallow situation: Urea to
ammonium to nitrate and the loss of soil nitrate via denitrification.
This simulation will introduce us to editing a simple Manager rule and to more advanced features
of graphing simulation results. Firstly we need to set up our weather and soil data. The simulation
is on silt soil in the Bhola region in Southern Bangladesh.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

14.
15.

Start with a new simulation based on Continuous Wheat

Change simulation name to Silt Fertilised
Save the file as N Fallow.apsim (C:\Apsim_workshop\N fallow.apsim)
Choose a weather file for Bhola (c:\Apsim_workshop\met_files\Bhola_1998-07.met)
Set the clock starting date: 1/1/2001 Ending date: 31/12/2001
Add a soil to the field node (North Joynags-06 No673)
From Soils toolbox, find and drag a Southern Bangladesh, Bhola district Silt, (Wheat PAWC =
138.5 mm, 1.5m) soil file ("Soils" > Bangladesh > Southern Bangladesh > Bhola > "Silt
(North Joynags-06 No673)") onto the field node of the simulation tree. Remove the existing soil
after the addition of the new soil. Rename the soil to something short like "Silt". If you like you
can also reorder the soil component so it comes straight under the paddock. (Hint: Highlight your
soil and use the Ctrl & up arrow to move a node up the tree)
Set the Starting water to 50% full, evenly distributed.
At the Initial nitrogen node, set the starting NO3 to 10 kg/ha (i.e. 6 and 4 in the 0-20 and 20-200
layers) and starting NH4 to 5 kg/ha (i.e. 4 and 1 in the two layers)
Set the initial surface organic matter to 2000 kg/ha wheat residues.
Remove the wheat component from the paddock, and all manager rules from the manager folder.
Drag a Fertilise on fixed date to your Manager component. ("Standard toolbox" -> "Management"
-> "Manager (common tasks)" )
Select Fertilise on a fixed date to edit:
Enter fertiliser date: 15-Jan.
Don't add fertiliser if N in top 2 layers exceeds: 1000.
Module used to apply fertiliser: fertiliser.
Amount of fertiliser to apply: 100.urea_N.
Make sure your simulation contains a Fertiliser component in your paddock. Even though it
doesn't have any changeable properties it is still necessary when fertiliser is to be applied.
Select Outputfile Variables.

16. Add the following variables to report:

Component

Variable name

Clock

dd/mm/yyyy as Date
Year
Day

Met
Soil (Silt)

Rain
dlayer
The thickness (in mm) of each soil
layer
esw
Extractable Soil Water (mm)
drain
Drainage (mm)
NO3() as NO3_Total
Nitrate Nitrogen, summed over profile,
aliased to NO3Total. (the as keyword
creates an alias)
NH4() as NH4_Total
Ammonium Nitrogen, summed over
profile, aliased to NH4Total
UREA()
DNIT()
NO3
Nitrate Nitrogen, layered
NH4
Ammonium Nitrogen, layered

17. Change reporting frequency (under Outputfile) to end_day.

18. Run the simulation
19. Create a graph of date vs urea, total ammonium and total nitrate. Drag an XY graph component
onto the simulation. On the Plot node set "Point type" to None and leave "Type" as Solid line.

Question: Why does the above graph look the way it does?

Illustrating the extent and conditions required for

denitrification losses
Create a new chart of Date vs Rain, DNIT (right hand axis), ESW and NO3_Total.

From this chart you can see that some nitrogen is lost via denitrification when large amounts of
nitrate is available in saturated soil conditions. But why do you think the level of denitrification is
so low (0.1 kgN/ha/day) in this case?

Exploring vertical movement of nitrate, after fertilisation,

through the soil profile
Let's look at the distribution of nitrate through the soil profile at the day fertiliser is applied and
then at 1, 3 and 5 months after fertilisation.
1. Create a depth graph (from the graph toolbox), and expand all the sub-nodes. Go to the depth
node, and select (so that they show a tick mark) the dates 15/01/2001, 15/02/2001, 15/4/2001
and 15/5/2001. Go to the Plot node and select NO3 as the X variables. Leave the Y variable as
"Depth". Select the top graph node ("Depth").
Depth plots can only be done when the simulation has "dlayer" in the output file along with at
least one other layered variable. This is why we included no3 and nh4 as layered variables in the
output file and not just the summed variables for NO3() and NO4(). (Hint: adding () to an array
variable like "NO3" to form "NO3()" will sum the nitrate values from all the soil layers)

From this chart you can see the change (on the X axis) in the distribution of nitrate (NO3) in the
soil profile (Y axis) over time in response to the addition of urea fertiliser and leaching processes
at the start of the wet season. (The default title "Depth" can be changed to something more
suitable ie. Change in soil NO3 over time
Question: Why is there little change before the 15th of May?
Repeat the steps above and create another graph this time selecting NH4.

Notes:

Question: What has happened to the NH4? Try changing the dates to look at NH4 at 1, 5 and 10
days after fertiliser has been applied.

From this chart you can see the change in the distribution of NH4 in the profile occurs very
rapidly over the course of a few days. NH4 is converted to NO3.
Additional exercise: Try creating another simulation with clock set between 14/01/2001 and
31/01/2001. Create a time series graph of urea(), NO3_total and NH4_total in the profile over a
period of 15 days after fertiliser is applied. Would the simulated process be the same if the
fertiliser was applied in the middle of the wet season (August)?

Movement of Nitrogen between Organic Matter Pools

In this exercise we track the movement of nitrogen in fresh organic matter into soil microbial
biomass and further into mineral nitrogen. We shall compare the flows in these processes for
incorporation of two types of residues wheat and cowpea.
1. Make a copy of the Silt fertilised simulation by dragging to the top node in the tree (Simulations)
2. Delete all the XY and Depth graphs. - This setup already includes wheat residues on the surface
at 2000 kg/ha and C:N ratio of 80
3. Change starting NO3-N to 60 kg/ha (36 and 24 in each of the 2 layers), leaving NH4-N at 5 kg/ha
4. Remove Fertilise on fixed date from your paddock component
5. Drag Tillage on fixed date to the Manager folder in your paddock component for this new
simulation. (open "Standard toolbox" -> "Management" -> "Manager (common tasks)" )
6. Change the Tillage management parameters to: date = 15-Jan
Module used to apply the tillage = Surface Organic Matter
Tillage Type = user_defined
User defined depth of seedbed preparation = 100 (mm)
User defined fraction of surface residues to incorporate = 1.0
7. Change simulation name to Silt wheat residues incorp.
8. Choose these variables to report:
Component

Variable name

Clock
Soil (Silt)

dd/mm/yyyy as Date
Biom_n() as biom_n_Tot
Fom_n() as fom_n_Tot
NO3() as no3_Tot

9. Create a copy of the Silt wheat residue incorp simulation and call it Sand cowpea residue incorp.
10. Change the initial surface residue parameters to 2000 kg/ha of Cowpea (type) residue. Set the
C:N ratio to 20. (Remember you may want to change the Organic Matter pool name to cowpea
as well. Remember to reflect this change in Tillage on a fixed date - Module used to apply tillage)
11. Run the two simulations for residue incorporation.

12. Graph both residue incorporation simulations with fom_n_tot (left hand axis), no3_tot and
biom_n_tot (right hand axis), and fom_n_tot. (Drag an XY graph onto the top node (simulations),
open the ApsimReader node and point to the 2 output files)

Inspect the change in fresh organic N in residues (fom_n) with time.

Note: There is a steep increase in the first few days when tillage incorporates the surface
residues and this material is passed onto the soilN modules as FOM. Soil "fom_n" for legume is
higher than for wheat residues reflecting the differences in N content of the 2 materials as
determined by the C:N ratios input to the model.
Differences between wheat and legume dynamics in decomposition of FOM and its N content
can be seen in the transfer of N into the microbial N pool (biom_n_tot), and the effects of this
transfer on the net immobilisation/mineralisation of organic N from/to the soil nitrate pool. NO3
levels increase over time reflecting changes in fom_n and biom_n pools.
Question: Would these rates of change increase during the wetter and warmer months?
In this exercise we will simulate the biomass and yield of a direct-seeded rice crop using APSIMORYZA.
You will learn a bit more about specifying a Manager template, execute more than one run in
batch mode and use the simulator to do a what-if experiment with fertiliser rates and type.
These skills can also be used to experiment with time of planting, rate of sowing and different
irrigation rates.
1. Start a fresh simulation using Oryza as a template
2. Select the first example Rice to use for this simulation (delete the second example:'Ponding
simulation' for the moment)
3. Choose the Bhola_1998-07.met weather file
4. Set the clock starting date: 1/1/2001, Ending date: 31/12/2001
5. Add a soil to the field node ("North Joynags-06 No673)
6. From Soils toolbox, find and drag a Southern Bangladesh, Bhola district Silt, (Wheat PAWC =
138.5 mm, 1.5m) soil description onto the field node of the simulation tree, (located under Soils
> Bangladesh > Southern Bangladesh > Bhola > Silt (North Joynags-06 No673)) removing
the existing soil description after the addition. Rename the soil to something short like Silt. If you
like you can also reorder the soil component so it comes straight under the field.
7. Set the Starting water to 100% full - filled from top.
8. Set the Starting nitrogen to 10 kg/ha of NO3 (as 6 and 4 in each layer, respectively) and 5 kg/ha
(4 + 1) of NH4
9. Drag a Surface Organic Matter componet from Toolbox - Soil related onto your paddock.
10. Select the Surface Organic Matter component for editing: Organic Matter pool name:
rice_stubble.
Surface organic matter type: rice.
Initial surface residues: 0.
11. In the Irrigation component set Automatic irrigation to off.
12. Drag a fertiliser component from the toolbox onto your paddock. (You may want to reorder
components above the output file)
13. In the Manager component, delete the Rice sowing rule. Drag a Rice-Direct seeding component
from the Rice Management Toolbox into the Manager.
14. Change the sowing rule to:
set sowing window START to 1-Jul
set sowing window END to 1-Jul
set Cultivar to local
set number of plants per seedbed to 180

15. Choose these variables to report:

Component

Variable name

Clock

dd/mm/yyyy as Date
Year
Day

Soil (Silt)
Rice

ESW
NO3() as no3_tot
cropsta as crop_stage
Dae
wagt as total_biomass
wso as storage_organs
wrr as rice_yield (Variable not in
drop down)
tnsoil as N_avail

16. Choose an "end_day" reporting frequency.

17. Rename the simulation to Direct_seeded_rice.
18. Save the simulation file as Rice single season.apsim (C:\Apsim_workshop\Rice single
season.apsim)
19. Run the Direct_seeded_rice simulation
20. Graph total_biomass and rice_yield with an XY graph with Date on the X axis. (Drag or Insert the
XY graph on the top simulation node to plot output from both simulations)

This simulation demonstrates a local rice variety (direct seeded) grown under rainfed conditions
during the monsoon. Simulated rough rice yield and biomass indicate a favourable season for
rainfall. Investigate the rainfall during the growing season by reporting additional variables.

21. Add additional report variables:

Component

Variable name

Met

Rain

Soil (Silt)

DUL(1)
sw(1)
no3()
nh4()
Drain
Irrigation

Irrigation

22. Rerun simulation

23. Create a new graph by copying your XY chart onto the 'Outputfile'. Copy 'Plot' onto this XY
Chart1 to create a second Plot1. For Plot select Y variables dul(1) and sw(1) (solid line and no
points). For 'Plot1' select rain (right hand axis and type= Bar).

This graph shows volumetric soil water levels (sw(1) in mm/mm) in the top layer compared with
the drained upper limit(DUL)in layer 1. Soil water in the surface layer is effected by soil
evaporation (decline in SW(1) during the drier winter months of January to March) while surface
water occurs only during the high rainfall period of the monsoon.

Single season transplanted rice crop under ponded

conditions
In this exercise we will simulate the growth and yield response of transplanted paddy rice. Apply
fertiliser at defined stages in crop development and apply irrigaton as required to maintain
adequate water levels in a paddy.
1. Make a copy of the simulation Direct_seeded_rice by dragging it to the Simulations node at the
top of the simulation tree.
2. Rename this copy to Transplanted_paddy_rice.
3. Delete the Rice-Direct seeding manager from the Manager folder
4. Drag Pond_depth on to the Manager Folder (from "Rice Management Toolbox" -> Rice->
"Manager (Pond_depth)"
5. Change properties to:
Name of your soil module: Silt
Start date for ponding: 1-Jun (Start of wet season - bunds constructed)
End date for ponding: 30-Oct (Crop maturing - open bunds) Maximum depth of pond: 150
Minimum depth of pond: 50 (Note: This is the trigger for irrigation to be applied)
Enable irrigation : No (set to No irrigation for the momemt)
Start date for irrigation: 1-Jul
End date for irrigation: 30-Oct
Maximum number of irrigations allowed: 6
6. Edit your soil file properties - Water - KS. (hydraulic conductivity in mm/day)to:
Component

Variable name

Depth
0-15
15-30
30-60
60-90
90-120
120-150

KS
24
24
24
24
24
1

7. Drag Rice-Transplant Aman on to the Manager Folder (from "Rice Management Toolbox" ->
Rice-> "Manager (Rice-Transplant Aman)"
8. Change properties to:
Enter sowing window START date: 1-Jul
Enter sowing window END date: 1-Jul
Duration of seedbed: 25
Number of plants on hills: 2
Fertiliser type: urea_N
Amount of fertiliser at transplant: 30
9. Save the file
10. Drag Fertilise on growth stage on to the Manager Folder (from "Rice Management Toolbox" ->
Rice-> "Manager (Fertilise on growth stage)"
11. Change properties to:
Amount of fertiliser to apply: 40
Fertiliser type: urea_N
12. Drag a Rice residue on to the Manager Folder (from "Rice Management Toolbox" -> Rice->
"Manager (Rice residue)

13. Change properties to:

Select your module to apply tillage : Surface Organic Matter
Tillage type: user_defined
Depth of seedbed preparation: 0
Fraction to incorporate: 0.85
14. Run Transplanted_paddy_rice simulation
Create an XY graph of Biomass and rice yield (XY chart copied with this simulation from
Direct_seeded_rice should be correct)

The graph shows daily biomass development from seedling establishment until day (25) of
transplant (specified by "Duration of seedbed" in manager rules for sowing). Biomass is reduced
due to transplant shock before developing total biomass at maturity. Grain fill starts in the second
week in September and reaches full grain yield at physiological maturity in the last week of
October.

Create a second XY graph using Plot by dragging it onto your 'Outputfile'. Graph dul(1) and sw(1)
on the left axis with rainfall and drainage (Cumulative) on the right hand axis.

Two monsoon rice crops (TAus - TAman)

In this exercise you will simulate two rice crops grown during the monsoon period. TAus rice is
transplanted at the start of the wet season in June and followed by the a TAman crop in late
August.
1. Open the previous simulation Rice single season as a template. (C:\APSIM_workshop\Rice
single season.apsim)
2. Use "Save as" to create a copy of this file in the c:\APSIM_workshop\ directory. Name this
simulation Rotations.
3. Make a copy of Transplanted_paddy_rice by dragging it onto the Simulations node.
4. Rename the copy to Rice-Rice.
5. Select the Micromet node in paddock and delete (this is not required in these exercises)
6. Select your soil (silt) for editing and change the starting soil water to 10% full (Evenly distributed)
7. Select the Manager -> Rice-Transplant Aman rule to edit: Enter sowing window START: 1-Aug.
Enter sowing window END: 1-Aug.
Cultivar: BR23.
Duration of seedbed: 25.
Number of plants on hills: 2.
Number of hills: 25.
Number of plants per seedbed: 1000. (Plants/m2)
Fertilizer type: urea_N.
Amount of fertilizer at transplant: 100.
8. Select the Manager -> 'Pond_depth' rule to edit: Name of your soil module: Silt.
Start date of ponding: 15-Apr.
End date of ponding: 30-Oct.
Maximum depth of pond: 150.
Minimum depth of pond: 50.
Enable irrigation: yes.
Start date for irrigation: 15-May.
End date for irrigation: 30-Oct.
Max number of irrigations: 6.
9. Select the Manager -> Rice-Transplant Aus rule to edit: Enter sowing window START: 15-Apr.
Enter sowing window END: 15-Apr.
Cultivar: BR3.
Duration of seedbed: 30.
Number of plants on hills: 2.
Number of hills: 25.
Number of plants per seedbead: 1000.
Fertilizer type: urea_N.
Amount of fertilizer at transplant: 30.
10. Run the Rice-Rice simulation.
Graph date (X axis) vs total_biomass and rice_yield (Y axis). ( Hint: Use your XY Chart from the
previous simulation)
Change the 'title' of your graph by renaming your 'XY Chart' to a more siutable name. (Hint:
TAus-TAman rice (biomass and yield))

In the above simulation two rice varieties have been selected for their duration to maturity
(Medium: BR23 ~119 DAE and Medium short: BR3 ~100 DAE) which enabled two rice crops to
be planted during the wetter months of the local monsoon season. Selecting the appropriate
variety (duration to maturity) is an important factor in constructing any crop rotation or cropping
sequence and can effect the outcome of any long-term cropping sequence scenario. The
previous simulations have only considered fixed sowing dates. Under dryland conditions the
opportunity to sow a crop may rely on a rainfall event due to the unavailability of irrigation. A
planting window (window of opportunity) can be defined in the manager with sowing triggered on
meeting a specific condition such as rainfall (ie. 20mm over 3 days) or level of soil water (ie.
ESW > 100mm).

Adding a dry season crop (ie. wheat) into the rotation

The previous example demonstrated a simple crop rotation or sequence of two wet season rice
crops. In this exercise you will replace the early rice crop with a dry season crop (ie. wheat) sown
into a full profile in mid November following the TAman rice harvest.
1. Make a copy of 'Rice-Rice' by dragging it onto the 'Simulations' node.
2. Rename the copy to Rice-wheat.
3. Select clock and change the start and end dates for the simulation: Start date: 1/06/2001 End
date: 31/05/2002
4. Select the Manager -> Rice-Transplant Aus rule and delete:
5. Select the Manager -> Rice-Transplant Aman rule to edit: Enter sowing window START: 15-Jul.
Enter sowing window END: 15-Jul.
Cultivar: BR23.
Duration of seedbed: 25.
Number of plants on hills: 2.
Number of hills: 25.
Number of plants per seedbead: 1000.
Fertilizer type: urea_N.
Amount of fertilizer at transplant: 50.
6. From the "Standard Toolbox" select "Crops (wheat)" and drag onto the paddock node. (You may
want to reorder wheat to below the rice component)
7. From the Standard Toolbox select "management" -> "Manager (common tasks)" -> (Sow using a
variable rule) and drag onto the manager folder in your 'paddock'.
8. Select Manager folder -> Sow using a variable rule to edit:
Enter sowing window START: 1-Dec.
Enter sowing window END: 1-Dec.
Must sow: yes.
Enter name of crop: wheat.
Enter sowing density: 100.
Enter cultivar: 'prodip.
Enter crop class: plant.
Enter row spacing: 250.
From the "Standard Toolbox" select "management" -> "Manager(common tasks)(Harvesting
rule)" and drag onto the manager folder in your paddock.
9. Select 'Manager folder' -> 'Harvesting rule' to edit:
Enter name of crop to harvest when ripe: wheat.
10. From the "Standard Toolbox" select "management" -> "Manager(common tasks)(Fertilise at
sowing)" and drag onto the manager folder in your paddock.
11. Select Manager folder -> Fertilise at sowing to edit:
On which module should the event come from: wheat.
On which event: sowing.
Module used to apply fertiliser: Fertiliser.
Amount of starter fertiliser at sowing: 40.
Sowing fertiliser type: urea_N.
12. From the 'Rice Management Toolbox' select 'Rice' -> 'Manager' -> (Fertilise and Irrigate rabi
crop) and drag onto the manager folder in your 'paddock'.
13. Select 'Manager folder' -> 'Fertilise and Irrigate rabi crop' to edit:
Crop type: wheat.
DAS to apply fertiliser: 20.
Module used to apply the fertiliser: Fertiliser.
Amount of fertiliser to apply: 30.
Fertiliser type: urea_N.
Amount of irrigation to apply: 60

Add additional report variables:

Component
Variable name
Wheat

biomass as wheat_biom
yield as wheat_yield

14. Make a copy of Fertilise and Irrigate rabi crop by dragging it onto the Manager folder node.
15. Select Manager folder -> Fertilise and Irrigate rabi crop1 to edit:
Change DAS to apply fertiliser: 40.
Change amount of fertiliser to apply: 30.
Fertiliser type: urea_N.
Amount of irrigation to apply: 60
16. From the "Standard Toolbox" select "management" -> "Manager(common tasks)(Irrigate at
sowing)" and drag onto the manager folder in your paddock.
17. Select Manager folder -> Irrigate at sowing to edit:
The module the event come from: wheat.
. Which event should irrigation be applied: sowing.
Module used to apply irrigation: Irrigation.
Amount of irrigation to apply: 60.
18. From the "Rice Management Toolbox" select "Rice" -> "Manager (Rabi residue)" and drag onto
the manager folder in your "paddock".
19. Select "Manager folder" -> "Rabi residue" to edit:
The module the event come from: wheat.
On which event should tillage be done: harvesting.
Module used to apply the tillage: Surface Organic Matter.
Tillage type: user_defined.
User_defined depth of seedbed preparation: 0.
User_defined fraction of surface residue to incorporate: 0.8.
20. Run the Rice-wheat simulation.
Graph date (X axis) vs total_biomass, rice_yield, wheat_yield and wheat_biom (Y axis). ( Hint:
Use your XY Chart from the previous simulation and add the reporting variables selected for
wheat)
Change the 'title' of your graph by renaming your 'Chart' to a more siutable name. (Hint: TAman
rice-wheat rotation)

The above examples introduced a crop rotation or cropping sequence where two crops (rice and
wheat) are grown in series over a single season. The previous exercises have only considered a
12 month period. In the next exercise you will evaluate a long-term scenario based on the ricewheat simulation that you have created. Long-term simulations require a much longer climate
record. The Bhola_1998-07.met file contains daily records from 1998 to 2007 and enables
simulation of this cropping sequence over 9 years.

Long-term rice-wheat rotation

1. Make a copy of 'Rice-wheat' by dragging it onto the 'Simulations' node.
2. Rename the copy to Rice-wheat scenario.
3. Select clock and change the start and end dates for the simulation:
Start date: 1/06/1998.
End date: 31/05/2007.
4. Run the Rice-wheat scenario simulation.
Evaluate the 'XY Chart' showing total biomass and yield of both wheat and rice.
Change the 'title' of your graph by renaming your 'Chart' to a more siutable name. (Hint: TAman
rice-wheat scenario)

The above graph is an example of a simple "rice-wheat" rotation where crops are sown on fixed
planting dates. In the following example you will evaluate the introduction of an opportunity crop
into this long-term rotation. Opportunity crops rely on a particular event occuring that would
enable a crop to be planted. A simple example of an event is "rainfall". (ie. During a specified
window of opportunity, did we get sufficient rainfall to enable a particular crop to be planted?)

Add an opportunity crop (ie.mungbean) to a long-term

rice-wheat rotation
1. Make a copy of 'Rice-wheat scenario' by dragging it onto the 'Simulations' node.
2. Rename the copy to Rice-wheat-mungbean opportunity.
3. From the 'Standard Toolbox' select 'Crops' -> 'mungbean' and drag onto the 'paddock' node.
(You may want to reorder 'mungbean' to below the 'wheat' component) (Hint: Ctrl + up arrow)
4. Make a copy of your 'Sow using a variable rule' in the 'Manager folder' by dragging it onto the
Manager folder node. Rename the copy to 'Sow mungbean'.
5. Select 'Sow mungbean' for editing:
Enter sowing window START date: 20-Mar.
Enter sowing window END date: 7-Apr.
Must sow: No.
Amount of rainfall: 20.
Number of days of rainfall: 3.
Enter minimum allowable available soil water: 0.
Enter name of crop to sow: mungbean.
Enter sowing density: 45.
Enter sowing depth: 30.
Enter cultivar: berken.
Enter crop growth class: plant.
Enter row spacing: 250.
6. Make a copy of your 'Harvesting rule' in the 'Manager folder' by dragging it onto the Manager
folder node. Rename the copy to 'Harvesting mungbean'.
7. Select 'Harvesting mungbean' for editing:
Enter name of crop to harvest: mungbean.
8. Change report variables:
Component

Variable name

Wheat

biomass
yield

9. Select the water node in your soil (Silt) for editing:

Make a copy of wheat by dragging it onto the water node.
10. Rename this copy to mungbean and select for editing:
Change "xf" values of 1 at 0-90 cm and 90-120cm and 120-150cm to 0. (This restricts potential
rooting depth for mungbean to only 60cm)
11. Run the Rice-wheat-mungbean opportunity simulation.
Graph date (X axis) vs rice_yield, wheat.yield and mungbean.yield (Y axis). Rename the graph to
'Rice-wheat-mungbean opportunity' ( Hint: Edit the old XY Chart copied over from the previous
simulation)

Question: How many years do you get a planting opportunity to sow mungbean?
The previous examples have demonstrated the process for constructing a simple cropping
sequence or rotation (Rice-wheat) based on fixed sowing dates. The rice seedling nursery was
sown on the 15th of July with transplanting occuring after 25 days. The wheat was sown on the
8th of December allowing time for the TAman rice harvest and well within the optimal planting
window for wheat at "Bhola". Mungbean was included in this simulation as an example of an
opportunity crop. The sowing criteria required 20mm of rainfall to occur over a 3 day period if the
crop was to be sown. As the graph shows, these conditions only occurred in 5 of the 9 years.
Additional exercise: Explore the effects of changing the "Sowing criteria" for mungbeans on the
frequency of a successful mungbean crop.

A simple cropping sequence: biomass, nitrogen and water

In this exercise you will construct time series graphs to help in the evaluation and discussion of
the following key components of a rice-wheat cropping system:
1. Total above ground biomass and grain production during the season for both rice and wheat
crops.
2. Soil nitrogen dynamics in response to applied fertiliser on soil nitrogen availability.
3. Soil water and ponding dynamics in response to rainfall and applied irrigation.

1. Create a copy of the Rotations.apsim file and rename it to Rice-wheat system.apsim.

(C:\Apsim_workshop\Rotations.apsim) Load the new APSIM file into the ApsimUI. Remove all
the additional simulations except for Rice-wheat by selecting a simulation node and pressing the
Delete key.

2. Select the outputfile -> Variables subcomponent. Add additional variables to report:
Component

Variable name

Fertiliser

fertiliser

Silt

NH4()

Rice

rlai as LAI(rice)

Wheat

wheat.lai as LAI(wheat)

3. Run the simulation.

TAman rice-wheat rotation: Simulated biomass and grain yield for a transplanted "Aman" rice wheat cropping sequence.

4. Select XY Chart1 and rename to Nitrogen.

5. In the 'Plot' window in addition to the Y variables: no3(), NH4(1) and N_avail add nh4().

Nitrogen: Simulated soil nitrogen dynamics for a TAman rice - wheat cropping sequence.

6. Add an additional graph to your Outputfile node.

In the Y variables add the following variables: dul(1)and sw(1) on the lefthand axis. On the
righthand axis add: irrigation. Create an extra plot component by dragging a 'plot' (from "Graph
Toolbox" -> Graph -> "GraphBits (Plot)" onto the 'Outputfile'. Add rain (Righthand axis) into the Y
axis in 'Plot1'. Change the type to Bar and select a new colour. Rename this graph to Water.

Water: Simulated period of ponding during the monsoon rice crop. Rainfall and irrigation events
occuring over the rice - wheat cropping season.

7. Create a graph of Leaf Area Index (LAI) for the rice and wheat crops. Plot LAI(rice) and
LAI(wheat) on the Y axis. Add a second 'Plot' component (Hint: See documentation above for
the water graph on adding a plot component) with Y variables: total_biomass and wheat_biom
(right axis). Rename this graph to LAI.

Notes:

LAI: Simulated Leaf Area Index (LAI) for rice and wheat. Plant biomass is also included.
Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes, both of which take place on a global
scale. Global warming is projected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting agriculture,
including temperature, carbon dioxide, glacial run-off, precipitation and the interaction of these
elements (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_and_agriculture).
This exercise aims to explore the effects of climate change using a simple wheat cropping
system. Firstly, the response of wheat to elevated CO2 is examined. For this simulation a climate
control component needs to be included.
In this analysis, you will look at seasonal changes in rainfall, evaporation, transpiration and crop
yields.

1. Construct a long term wheat simulation at 'Dinajpur'- use the Rice-wheat simulation in your
'Rotations.apsim' file as a guide. (Hint: Make a copy of Rotations .apsim and rename it to
Climate change.apsim.) Delete all the simulations except for the Rice-wheat simulation as this
will become the template for the following exercises.
2. Rename the Rice-wheat simulation to Wheat-350ppm.
3. Select a new met file. Use the browse button to select the Dinajpur.met file from
c:\APSIM_workshop\met_files\.
4. Select clock for editing:
Select the start date: 1/01/1959
Select the end date: 31/12/2009
5. Drag a ClimateControl component on to the Wheat-350ppm simulation (from "Standard Toolbox"
-> "Meteorological (ClimateControl").
6. Select ClimateControl for editing:
Enter window to START: 1-jan.
Enter window END: 31-dec.
Change in maximum temperature: 0.
Change in minimum temperature: 0.
Relative change in daily rainfall: 0.
Relative change in daily radiation: 0.
Atmospheric CO2 Concentration: 350.
(Hint: you may want to move 'ClimateControl' to below the 'met' component. Use Ctrl + up arrow)

7. Remove all the manager logic used for the previous rice simulation. (Hint: Delete RiceTransplant Aman, Pond_depth, Fertilise on growth stage, Rice residue.)
8. Drag a tracker component on to the Manager Folder (from "Standard Toolbox" -> "Management
(tracker)").
9. Add the following lines to the tracker component:
Tracker variables
sum of rain on start_of_day from sowing to now as
RainSinceSowing
sum of ep on end_of_day from sowing to now as Transp
sum of es on end_of_day from sowing to now as SoilEvap
10. Choose these variables to report: (under Output node)
Component

Variable name

Clock

dd/mm/yyyy as Date
Year

wheat
Soil (Silt)
wheat
met
tracker

Day
wheat.yield as wheat_yield
wheat.biomass as wheat_biom
ESW
NO3()
wheat.yield as wheat_yield
wheat.biomass as wheat_biom
rain
RainSinceSowing
Transp
SoilEvap

11. Change 'Reporting Frequency' to harvesting. (Hint: Select question mark to display examples
for reporting frequency)

12. Delete existing XY charts under the 'Outputfile' node.

13. Make a linked simulation of 'Wheat-350ppm' and rename it to "Wheat-450ppm". There are
several ways to make linked simulations:
a) Right click and hold down on the source simulation and drag it to the top level (simulations)
node. A popup menu appears when you let go, select the "Create Link Here" option.
b) Select the source simulation with the left mouse button, hold the keyboards <alt> key down,
and drag it to the top level (simulations) node.
The advantage of linked simulations is that changes made to any component are made to all
linked components.
14. Select the linked simulation 'Wheat-350ppm1' (in blue) and rename to 'Wheat-450ppm'.
15. Right click on the ClimateControl component and select 'unlink this node' from the drop down
box. (The blue underlined link will change to black text)
16. Select the ClimateControl for editing:
Change Atmospheric CO2 Concentration to 450.
17. Save and run both simulations. (Hint: select the 'Simulations' node at the top and then the run
button to run both simulations at once)
18. Create a graph comparing wheat yields from each of the simulations . Drag a Probability
Exceedence component on to the 'Simulations node' (from "Graph" -> Graphs-> "Probability
Exceedence").
19. Graph 'wheat_yield' (X axis) vs 'Probability' (Y axis). Rename the graph to 'Wheat response
under climate change scenario

In the above example a 'Probability of Exceedence' chart was selected to compare the probability
of grain yields under different background concentrations of atmospheric CO2 (350 ppm and 450
ppm) using 50 years of daily climate data from Dinajpur in northern Bangladesh. The graph
highlights a yield response by APSIM to an elevated CO2 level of 450 ppm. However, increasing
levels of CO2 are only one aspect to be considered in any climate change scenario with the
IPCC (2007) predicting significant increases in global temperatures over the next 50 to 100
years.

The next exercise builds on the previous example by creating two additional simulations. The first
will consider current levels of CO2 at 350 ppm but with an increase in minimum temperature of
1.5 oC. The second will maintain an increase in minimum temperature in conjunction with an
increase in CO2 to 450ppm.

Climate change response to an increase in minimum daily

temperature
1. Make a linked simulation of Wheat-350ppm and name it Wheat-350ppm+2degC.
2. Select ClimateControl for editing and right click and "unlink this node".
(The ClimateControl will change from underlined blue to black text)
3. Select ClimateControl for editing: Change in minimum temperature: 2.
4. Run this new simulation.

The Wheat response under climate change scenario graph now includes the results of this latest
simulation. Create an additional simulation based on 'Wheat-450ppm' using the steps above.
Rename this new simulation to 'Wheat-450ppm+2degC'.
5. Run new simulation.

Question: How has increasing minimum temperature affected grain yield in relation to an
increase in the level of CO2?
Additional exercise: Explore the effects of increasing maximum temperature under this
scenario.
Changes in biomass and grain yield will have a direct effect on transpiration and soil evaporation.
Create an additional graph from the 'Graph' toolbox or by copying 'Wheat response under climate
change scenario'. Selecting both SoilEvap and Transp on the X axis for graphing.

Notes:

Climate change response to rainfall

In this exercise you will investigate changes to wheat yield in response to modifying rainfall,
temperature and CO2 by creating a simple experiment. This simulation experiment requires a
control treatment (previous wheat simulation based on a CO2 concentration of 350 ppm) and a
number of additional treatments:
(1) Increasing CO2 to 450 ppm
(2) Increasing minimum temperature by 2 oC
(3) Decreasing rainfall by 10%
1. Drag a Folder component onto the 'Simulations' node (from "Standard Toolbox" -> "Structural
(folder)").
2. Rename this folder to Senario.
3. Make a copy the Wheat-350ppm simulation by dragging it on the Scenario folder. Rename this
simualtion to Control.
4. Copy the Wheat-450ppm simualtion to the Scenario folder and rename it to C450
(CO2:450ppm). (Unlink the simulation by right clicking and selecting Unlink this node)
5. Create a copy of Wheat-450ppm+2degC. Rename this copy to C450+T2 (CO2:450ppm and
minimum temperature + 2 oC).
6. Create a copy of C450+T2 by dragging it onto the Scenario node. Rename this simulation to
C450+T2-R5 (CO2:450ppm and minimum temperature + 2oC and rainfall -10%).
7. Select the ClimateControl node in C450+T2-R10 for editing:
Relative change in daily rainfall: -10.
8. Run all the simulations in the Scenario folder.
(Hint: Highlight the 'Scenario' folder and press "Run" to run all simulations together)

9. Create a box plot graph showing the results of each treatment. To do this, click on the Graph
Toolbox at the bottom of the window to open the toolbox. Then drag a 'Box Plot' component
(from "Graph" -> "Graphs (Box Plot)") and drop onto the Scenario node.

Hint: To change the Y axis right click on the chart and select Format Graph. Select Axes. For
the 'Left Axis' untick Minimum and change value to 0. Close 'TeeChart editor.

The "box plots" used in the above graph represent median wheat yield (dotted line) in response
to applied treatments (based on 50 years of simulation). The solid section (25th and 75th
percentiles) with whiskers representing the 10th and 90th percentiles.

Additional exercise: In the above scenario, decreasing rainfall (at CO2 levels of 450ppm) had
only a small influence on median wheat yields due to available irrigation. In this example wheat is
a dry season (Rabi) crop sown into high levels of soil water at the end of the monsoon with
additional irrigation applied during the growing season. Access to available surface or ground
water for irrigation under a declining rainfall climate change scenario may present a challenge for
future agriculture. What would the effect of reducing the amount of applied irrigation or reducing
starting soil moisture have on potential grain yield?