Hands on Training Workshop on APSIM: Decision support tool for agricultural Systems Modeling and Simulation (25-27 May 2022)
Agroecosystem or cropping systems are human induced ecosystem managed for the production of food, fuel and fibre. It covers 1/4th of the global land surface area. In a quantitative way, it is an area where almost 30% of the land is dedicated to croplands or intensively managed pastures. The complexity of this system is different across the globe. Presently, around 7.5 billion people live on planet earth and in future, it might be in the range of 8.5 to 12 billion. Thus, to feed the billions of population in the world we need to manage our agroecosystem. In the past intensification/overexploitation of agroecosystems with irrigation, agronomic managements, improved crop varieties, agrochemicals and agricultural machinery resulted to the enhanced food production. However, no climate smart agricultural options were opted in the past that resulted to the degradation of this whole ecosystem. Problems such as greenhouse gas emissions, smog, erosion, salinization, water pollution, eutrophication, loss in biodiversity, insects and pests prevalence are dominantly due to the inaccurate agroecosystem management. Therefore, if these problems are not to be addressed on urgent basis at ground scale, they might jeopardize the development possibilities of future generations. The understanding of the mechanisms/processes responsible for the degradation of agroecosystem could reverse these negative trends and can help to develop new strategies. Models are good tool to describe the response of agroecosystems under different sets of biotic and abiotic scenarios. These processes-based agroecosystem models can be used to solve what if questions in this era of climate change. These models are helpful in ideotype designing, phenotyping, understanding of Genotype (G) x Environment (E) x Management (M) interactions, crop physiological mechanisms, water and nutrients management, conservation and precision agriculture, insect, pest and disease forecasting, soil organic carbon dynamics, socioeconomic analysis and climate impact assessments.
Crop models are a formal way to present quantitative knowledge about how a crop grows in interaction with its environment. Using weather data and other data about the crop environment, these models can simulate crop development, growth, yield, water, and nutrient uptake. The data used in crop models include daily weather data, such as solar radiation, maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall, as well as soil characteristics, initial soil conditions, cultivar characteristics, and crop management. Crop models are mathematical algorithms that capture the quantitative information of agronomy and physiology experiments in a way that can explain and predict crop growth and development. They can simulate many seasons, locations, treatments, and scenarios in a few minutes. Crop models contribute to agriculture in many ways. They help explore the dynamics between the atmosphere, the crop, and the soil, assist in crop agronomy, pest management, breeding, and natural resource management, and assess the impact of climate change.
The Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) is a comprehensive model developed to simulate biophysical processes in agricultural systems, particularly as it relates to the economic and ecological outcomes of management practices in the face of climate risk. It is also being used to explore options and solutions for the food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation and carbon trading problem domains. From its inception twenty years ago, APSIM has evolved into a framework containing many of the key models required to explore changes in agricultural landscapes with capability ranging from simulation of gene expression through to multi-field farms and beyond.
APSIM is structured around plant, soil and management modules. These modules include a diverse range of crops, pastures and trees, soil processes including water balance, N and P transformations, soil pH, erosion and a full range of management controls. APSIM resulted from a need for tools that provided accurate predictions of crop production in relation to climate, genotype, soil and management factor while addressing the long-term resource management issues.
The APSIM modelling framework is made up of the following components:
A set of biophysical modules that simulate biological and physical processes in farming systems.
A set of management modules that allow the user to specify the intended management rules that characterise the scenario being simulated and that control the simulation.
Various modules to facilitate data input and output to and from the simulation.
A simulation engine that drives the simulation process and facilitates communication between the independent modules.
OBJECTIVES
Agronomy department will organize a three-day training workshop on 25 to 27 May 2022 aimed
To provide basic concepts about dynamic crop models
To give practical knowledge about application of crop model in the assessment of climate change at field scale and its linkage with farming community
To demonstrate how dynamic models can be used as functions under different cropping systems
To elaborate general concepts for using phenotypic data to estimate parameters (GSPs)

Registration fee:

Faculty: 2000 (PKR)
Students: 500 (PKR)
Professionals: 2000 (PKR)
Company Representative: 2000 (PKR)
International participants: 50 ($)

Jointly Organized by: Department of Agronomy PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi/Office of Research, Innovation & Commercialization (ORIC) PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi
Call for queries: Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Cell; 0333-5434241, Email; ahmadmukhtar@uaar.edu.pk
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