PNNL

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 in 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- Crop (WRF-Crop) model, which has previously demonstrated commendable performance in simulating single-cropping scenarios. This allows for a 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. In the next phase of our research, we plan to employ this integrated crop modeling system under various irrigation scenarios to further enhance our understanding of the intricate relationship between agricultural development and climate change.