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PALMS: Precision Agricultural-Landscape Modeling SystemPrecision modeling to provide decision support for farmers
PALMS is software designed to provide farmers with information that they can use to make decisions. PALMS runs on a desktop or laptop PC. The graphical user interface is Java-based, which allows the user to point, click, and browse to select the settings for a PALMS simulation.
PALMS is a biophysical process model, which means that it uses equations replicating physical systems to simulate the flow of water, energy, and mass through the atmosphere-plant-soil system. It uses topography and three-dimensional soil information on a 5, 10, or 20 meter grid from the farm field on which the user wants to run simulations. Hourly weather data provides the forcing that drives the simulation over one or more growing seasons.
PALMS produces daily estimates of soil moisture and temperature (in three dimensions), surface ponding, and crop status on each grid cell on the field. PALMS is able to simulate varying soil moisture and temperature and crop status caused by variability in topography and soil on a single field.
Our main web site is located at http://resac.gis.umn.edu
You can also contact the principal researchers directly
May 17 May 22
How PALMS Works PALMS Provides Information for Decision Support
To find out more...
Very few farm fields are perfectly flat. Even a slope as small as 1% can cause significant runoff. Glacial landscapes, such as in south-central Wisconsin also tend to have enclosed depressions which collect water in temporary ponds. Ponding and runoff cause fields to be wet in some areas and dry in others. This field in Arlington, WI is less than 5 acres. The difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points on the field is just over 4 feet. There is more variability under the surface of the soil. The thickness of the topsoil, which holds water and nutrients available to plants, varies from 2.5 to 6.5 feet.
Why Precision Agriculture?
Farm fields have varying...
Topography
Soil characteristics
Which results in ...
Spatial variability
Temporal variability
Observed thickness of soil (cm) above glacial till - draped on topography.
4ft elevation difference
Thin topsoil
Thick topsoil
Simulated moisture content (fraction volumetric) in the top 14cm of soil on two days in 1999.
Wetter
Drier
1999
2000
High yield
Low yield
Observed corn yield (bu/ac) in 1999 and 2000.
Different parts of a farm field will have different yields in the same year. And the yield pattern changes from year to year depending on weather. Some parts of a field stay wet longer than other parts of a field. It is a challenge to build functional relationships among weather, soils, nutrients, and yield because all four vary every growing season. A farmer’s overall goal is to maximize his profit. This is done by increasing or maintaining yields while reducing production costs (both economic and environmental). Whether the farmer wants to use the same treatment on the entire field, or use different treatments on different parts of the field, the farmer needs information to help decide what to do, and when to do it.
What is the best way to manage agricultural land to maintain yield and minimize production costs?
PALMS runs on your PC
Uses data from farm field on 5, 10, or 20 meter grid:
•topography
•soil characteristics in 3-D
•hourly weather (wind, sun, temperature, humidity, rain)
Modes:
•simulate through today
•use forecast to predict
•simulate many seasons
PALMS computes the flow of water, energy, and mass through the air-plant-soil system on each grid cell in the field.
Rain/snow
Interception
Evaporation
Drip
Infiltration
PuddlingRunoff
Ponding
Soil moisture distribution
Water uptake
Transpiration
Evaporation
Leaching/drainage
WATER
ENERGY
MASSSunlight
Reflection
Absorption
Photosynthesis
Heat radiation
Soil temperaturedistribution
Reflection
Absorption
Heat radiationCondensation
Nutrient uptake
Soil microbebiochemistry
Carbon dioxide
Carbon and nitrogen allocation in root, stem, leaf, grain
Oxygen
Simulated corn yield (bu/ac) in 1999 and 2000. Compare to the figures showing observed yield on the far left. Error for 1999 is 11%; error for 2000 is 39%.
19992000
Yield
Soil Moisture
Hill
Depression
Observed and simulated volumetric soil water content in the 30-90cm soil layer, during the 1999 growing season. The hill (H) and depression (D) locations are marked on the 1999 yield map above.
H
D
Dr. John Norman Department of Soils University of Wisconsin-Madison (608) 262-4576 [email protected]
Christine MollingSSEC University of Wisconsin-Madison (608) [email protected]
Dr. George R. DiakSpace Science and Engineering Center University of Wisconsin-Madison (608) [email protected]
Grain Moisture
% m
ois
ture
Oct 1st
Hill
Observed and simulated corn grain moisture content during the end of the 2000 growing season. The hill (H) location is marked on the 1999 yield map above.
Simulated grain moisture on October 1, 2000