OliveCan: A Process-Based Model of Development, Growth and Yield of Olive Orchards

Abstract

Several simulation models of the olive crop have been formulated so far, but none of them is capable of analyzing the impact of environmental conditions and management practices on water relations, growth and productivity under both well-irrigated and water-limiting irrigation strategies. This paper presents and tests OliveCan, a process-oriented model conceived for those purposes. In short, OliveCan is composed of three main model components simulating the principal elements of the water and carbon balances of olive orchards and the impacts of some management operations. To assess its predictive power, OliveCan was tested against independent data collected in two 3-year field experiments conducted in Córdoba, Spain, each of them applying different irrigation treatments. An acceptable level of agreement was found between measured and simulated values of seasonal evapotranspiration (ET, range 393 to 1016 mm year-1; RMSE of 89 mm year-1), daily transpiration (Ep, range 0.14–3.63 mm d-1; RMSE of 0.32 mm d-1) and oil yield (Yoil, range 13–357 g m-2; RMSE of 63 g m-2). Finally, knowledge gaps identified during the formulation of the model and further testing needs are discussed, highlighting that there is additional room for improving its robustness. It is concluded that OliveCan has a strong potential as a simulation platform for a variety of research applications.

Near future climate change projections with implications for the agricultural sector of three major Mediterranean islands

“…The decreases in the number of days with TN < 8°C and TN < 13°C in DJF and MAM may have a positive effect on trunk growth and the vegetative state and fruit growth respectively, while the increased TX and TN temperatures in MAM may lengthen the growing season (Pérez-López et al 2008;López-Bernal et al 2020). However, the increase of HD during MAM and JJA (anthesis and veraison period) may affect negatively the fruit set (Moriondo et al 2019;López-Bernal et al 2018) and fruit size (Benlloch-González et al 2019). Moreover, the decreases in the number of chilling days (days with 8°C > TN > 0°C) in DJF may have a negative impact on flowering bud differentiation that requires a period of low temperatures for its completion (Ozdemir 2016;Brito et al 2019).…”

Is new olive farming sustainable? A spatial comparison of productive and environmental performances between traditional and new olive orchards with the model OliveCan

“…Olive orchard modelling has evolved since the first attempt to estimate the productivity of olive orchards (Abdel-Razik, 1989). Recently López-Bernal et al (2018) have formulated a process-based model, OliveCan, capable of simulating the impact of environmental conditions (including water deficit) and management practices on water relations, carbon assimilation, growth and productivity. The added value of this model is its ability to illustrate responses of water and carbon balances to weather variables, soil characteristics and management techniques, thus enabling the comprehension of olive orchard dynamics under heterogeneous conditions and identifying farming practices for keeping olive groves sustainable and resilient.…”

Studying and modelling winter dormancy in olive trees

“…Further collection of datasets, preferentially from environmentally-contrasting areas where olive orchards are grown, would be highly desirable to test the models and, if required, to improve their calibration or formulating more sophisticated models. In the meanwhile, Model 2 has been incorporated into the framework of OliveCan, a recently developed biophysical model of growth, development and yield of olive orchards (López-Bernal et al, 2018), which was missing a more empirically-based criterion for establishing the date at which vegetative growth switches to a passive role as a sink of carbohydrates.…”