The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP): Protocols and pilot studies

Abstract

Pilot results demonstrate AgMIP's role in assessing climate impacts with explicit representation of uncertainties in climate scenarios and simulations using crop and economic models. An intercomparison of wheat model simulations near Obregón, Mexico reveals inter-model differences in yield sensitivity to [CO2] with model uncertainty holding approximately steady as concentrations rise, while uncertainty related to choice of crop model increases with rising temperatures. Wheat model simulations with mid-century climate scenarios project a slight decline in absolute yields that is more sensitive to selection of crop model than to global climate model, emissions scenario, or climate scenario downscaling method. A comparison of regional and national-scale economic simulations finds a large sensitivity of projected yield changes to the simulations’ resolved scales. Finally, a global economic model intercomparison example demonstrates that improvements in the understanding of agriculture futures arise from integration of the range of uncertainty in crop, climate, and economic modeling results in multi-model assessments.

Citation

Rosenzweig, C.; Jones, J. W.; Hatfield, J.L.; Ruane, A. C.; Boote, A.C.; Thorburn, P.; Antle, J.M.; Nelson, G.C.; Porter, C.; Janssen, S.; Asseng, S.; Basso, B.; Ewert, F.; Wallach, D.; Baigorria, G.; Winter, J.M. The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP): Protocols and pilot studies. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2013) 170: 166-182. [DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2012.09.011]

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP): Protocols and pilot studies

Published 1 January 2013