Using a Simulation Model As An Education Tool.

Computer simulation models are useful as they integrate the processes that typically drive a key variable of interest.   In 1997 an effort was made to tie together the utility of a functional test of soil nutrient supply rate with a mechanistic nutrient uptake model. The very detailed concepts of Barber’s Flux model were used along with more highly aggregated modeling efforts applied to grain yield and nutrient responses.  The modeling approach began by simplifying the soil-climate-plant system and systematically adding complexity that accounted for the most likely exceptional scenarios. Resources defined by this procedure have a fundamental impact on
the soil-climate-plant system. The entire approach, called “Constrained Resource Modeling”, proved a useful level of aggregation for crop nutrition modeling also called a CropCast.

While the PRS CropCaster interface was designed to assist growers in making the best decisions under grower specified soil-climate-plant settings, it has also provided significant utility in the classroom to teach students.  The scales of constrained resource interactions with in the CropCaster broaden the students knowledgebase and result in a fundamental shift in thinking about complicated interacting biological processes.  Students with these skills will make much better inferences and devise much stronger research hypothesis to test in the areas of ecosystem services, water quality and sustainable food production.