Project Number: 5402-13660-007-06
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 01, 2008
End Date: Aug 31, 2010

Objective:
1. Streamline the procedure and training scientists for developing, testing, and improving stand-alone OMS-compatible science process modules of different agricultural systems derived from existing models or knowledge base for the OMS library, and integrating models from them. 2. Streamline the procedure and help scientists for testing and improving the modules and models created from them for a variety of applications. 3. Enhance the GPFARM-range modules and model for use in simulating a variety of range management practices, effects of climate change on forage, and soil carbon storage. Add modules for parameter estimation and scaling and improve root growth and water and N uptake components.

Approach:
Procedures for building and testing modules and models will be streamlined and progressively improved. This will require storing in OMS of test datasets for testing the modules and models against. Active assistance will be provided to ASRU and other ARS modelers for creating, testing and improving OMS modules for a variety of agricultural systems, as well as auxiliary components (e.g., land unit delineation, parameter estimation, scaling, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses) needed for important applications, integration of these components into a running model, and showing the plug and play capability. A friendly, step-by-step, users manual and a tutorial developed for this purpose will be further improved. They will also be trained on how to test the modules and models against some data. The existing modules for a range-livestock model will be expanded to include components for effects of climate change on forage growth and quality of different forage species, and for soil carbon in the root zone. Continuing modifications will be made in OMS in response to users¿ requirements and suggestions. Functionalities in OMS will be gradually progressively updated to make it an ARS advanced framework for developing, maintaining, and delivering models/tools at different scales for resource analysis, conservation planning, optimizing agricultural cropping and management practices, and practice design, from basic science components in a library. The components are readily updated or replaced as new knowledge becomes available.