Modelling the Interactions of Soils, Climate, and Management for Grass Production in England and Wales

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Giannitsopoulos, M. L., Burgess, P. J., Richter, G. M., Bell, M. J., Topp, C. F. E., Ingram, J. and Takahashi, T. 2021. Modelling the Interactions of Soils, Climate, and Management for Grass Production in England and Wales. Agronomy. 11 (4), p. 677. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040677

AuthorsGiannitsopoulos, M. L., Burgess, P. J., Richter, G. M., Bell, M. J., Topp, C. F. E., Ingram, J. and Takahashi, T.
Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of a model called LINGRA-N-Plus to simulate the interaction of climate, soil and management on the green leaf and total dry matter yields of ryegrass in England and Wales. The LINGRA-N-Plus model includes modifications of the LINGRA-N model such as temperature- and moisture-dependent soil nitrogen mineralization and differential partitioning to leaves and stems with thermal time from the last harvest. The resulting model was calibrated against the green leaf and total grass yields from a harvest interval x nitrogen application experiment described by Wilman et al. (1976). When the LINGRA-N-Plus model was validated against total grass yields from nitrogen experiments at ten sites described by Morrison et al. (1980), its modelling efficiency improved greatly compared to the original LINGRA-N. High predicted yields, at zero nitrogen application, were related to soils with a high initial nitrogen content. The lowest predicted yields occurred at sites with low rainfall and shallow rooting depth; mitigating the effect of drought at such sites increased yields by up to 4 t ha−1. The results highlight the usefulness of grass models, such as LINGRA-N-Plus, to explore the combined effects of climate, soil, and management, like nitrogen application, and harvest intervals on grass productivity

KeywordsLINGRA; nitrogen; soil moisture deficit; Soil organic matter; Water stress
Year of Publication2021
JournalAgronomy
Journal citation11 (4), p. 677
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040677
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeS2N - Soil to Nutrition - Work package 3 (WP3) - Sustainable intensification - optimisation at multiple scales
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online02 Apr 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted30 Mar 2021
PublisherMDPI
ISSN2073-4395

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