Protocols for Crop Improvement Teams

AgMIP crop model improvement teams (CMITs) are organized to re-evaluate existing crop models (or develop new models for orphan crops) for use under a wide range of conditions and to improve their effectiveness in predicting productivity using traditional as well as new technology agricultural practices. CMITs are encouraged to evaluate and improve crop model responses to climate change, with particular emphasis on responses to high temperature, elevated CO2, and water limitation and excess. These teams include crop modelers and experimentalists working to add new capabilities to existing models for addressing the various stresses that limit productivity, working with experimental data to develop, test, and document improved capabilities. We suggest approaches and organizational strategies for crop model improvement teams to follow to improve crop models using experimental data for developing, testing, and documenting improved abilities as well as improving the physiological, physical, and chemical functional relationships contained in the computer code and model parameterization.

Summary Guidelines for AgMIP CMITs (Crop Model Improvement Teams)

  1. Overall CMIT Leader with responsibilities of establishing specific model improvement goals, activities and a timetable, organizing and coordinating team meetings (virtual and in person), and communicating to all team members, AgMIP, and funding authorities. The CMIT Leader may be a crop modeler or an experimentalist. If an experimentalist, he/she would generally be responsible for coordinating the data gathering aspects and leading the discussions on process responses to climate, soil, and management conditions. If a modeler, he/she would generally be responsible for development and evaluation of functional relationships for specific processes and for a person (i.e., post doc) who would develop code for an improved model that would be made available to all participants.
  2. A CMIT Co-Leader who would complement the expertise of the overall Leader as noted above. The Leader and Co-Leader will work with AgMIP leaders who will endorse the team’s proposed goals and activities and help the leaders attract participants with expertise and data for contributing to model improvement.
  3. CMITs should include participants who are crop modelers and experimentalists who are contributors to the data and the various model testing and improvement activities defined by the team.

For additional information see Protocols for Crop Model Improvement Teams

View the Crop Model Improvement Flier here.