Modelling of water regulating agro-ecosystem services in India

Abstract

Agroecosystem models are recognized as effective and potential tools for understanding the interactions between different agro-ecosystem components for identifying the suitable management measures and sustainable management agro-ecosystem. The study illustrates the use of models in agroecosystems for simulating water-regulating services in India and emphasizes the vital role of the audience in advancing this research. Developed agro-ecosystem simulation models in India are effectively employed for simulating the water-regulating agroecosystem services, including infiltration, potential groundwater recharge, water storage, surface runoff yield, and soil erosion. Applications of developed infiltration models for constant as well as varying depths of ponding are successfully applied for a range of soils. Simulated potential groundwater recharge from WHSs (Water Harvesting Structures) by the developed potential groundwater recharge simulation model varied between 83 and 90% of stored water in the WHSs. Simulation of soil erosion by a derived model ranged from 0.09-3.83 t ha-1 yr-1 for different crops and cropping systems. Modeled surface runoff by the NAPI-based rainfall-runoff model for an agro-ecosystem's degraded land use system ranged from 10-20% of the rainfall. Simulation studies on a few waterregulating agro-ecosystem services employing the derived models showed varied hydrologic responses of varying land use systems in India's agro-ecosystem. In conclusion, these agro-ecosystem modelling applications could be extended to similar agro-ecological regions of the world, with the audience playing a crucial role in this extension and in improved understanding and calculating water-regulating agroecosystem services.