Implementation of a new crop phenology and irrigation scheme in the ISBA land surface model using SURFEX_v8.1

Abstract

Abstract. With an increase in the number of natural processes represented, global land surface models (LSMs) have become more and more accurate in representing natural terrestrial ecosystems. However, they are still limited with respect to the impact of agriculture on land surface variables. This is particularly true for agro-hydrological processes related to a strong human control on freshwater. While many LSMs consider natural processes only, the development of human-related processes, e.g. crop phenology and irrigation in LSMs, is key. In this study, we present the implementation of a new crop phenology and irrigation scheme in the ISBA (interactions between soil–biosphere–atmosphere) LSM. This highly flexible scheme is designed to account for various configurations and can be applied at different spatial scales. For each vegetation type within a model grid cell, three irrigation systems can be used at the same time. A limited number of parameters are used to control (1) the amount of water used for irrigation, (2) irrigation triggering (based on the soil moisture stress), and (3) crop seasonality (emergence and harvesting). A case study is presented over Nebraska (USA). This region is chosen for its high irrigation density and because independent observations of irrigation practices can be used to verify the simulated irrigation amounts. The ISBA simulations with and without the new crop phenology and irrigation scheme are compared to different satellite-based observations. The comparison shows that the irrigation scheme improves the simulated vegetation variables such as leaf area index, gross primary productivity, and land surface temperature. In addition to a better representation of land surface processes, the results point to potential applications of this new version of the ISBA model for water resource monitoring and climate change impact studies.