Development and Use of Mathematical Models and Software Frameworks for Integrated Analysis of Agricultural Systems and Associated Water Use Impacts

1.
Dept. of Mathematics, Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA
2.
Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University, O105 Martin Hall, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
3.
Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
4.
Dept. of Mathematics, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 210 South 10th St., Indiana, PA 15705 USA
5.
California Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 4165 Spruance Road, San Diego, CA 92140, USA

Received: 31 January 2016 Accepted: 18 May 2016 Published: 25 January 2016

Abstract
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The development of appropriate water management strategies requires, in part, a methodology for quantifying and evaluating the impact of water policy decisions on regional stakeholders. In this work, we describe the framework we are developing to enhance the body of resources available to policy makers, farmers, and other community members in their e orts to understand, quantify, and assess the often competing objectives water consumers have with respect to usage. The foundation for the framework is the construction of a simulation-based optimization software tool using two existing software packages. In particular, we couple a robust optimization software suite (DAKOTA) with the USGS MF-OWHM water management simulation tool to provide a flexible software environment that will enable the evaluation of one or multiple (possibly competing) user-defined (or stakeholder) objectives. We introduce the individual software components and outline the communication strategy we defined for the coupled development. We present numerical results for case studies related to crop portfolio management with several defined objectives. The objectives are not optimally satisfied for any single user class, demonstrating the capability of the software tool to aid in the evaluation of a variety of competing interests.
- multi-objective optimization,
- water management,
- crop planning,
- code coupling
Citation: K.R. Fowler, E.W. Jenkins, M. Parno, J.C. Chrispell, A.I. Colón, R.T. Hanson. Development and Use of Mathematical Models and Software Frameworks for Integrated Analysis of Agricultural Systems and Associated Water Use Impacts[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2016, 1(2): 208-226. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2016.2.208

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Abstract

The development of appropriate water management strategies requires, in part, a methodology for quantifying and evaluating the impact of water policy decisions on regional stakeholders. In this work, we describe the framework we are developing to enhance the body of resources available to policy makers, farmers, and other community members in their e orts to understand, quantify, and assess the often competing objectives water consumers have with respect to usage. The foundation for the framework is the construction of a simulation-based optimization software tool using two existing software packages. In particular, we couple a robust optimization software suite (DAKOTA) with the USGS MF-OWHM water management simulation tool to provide a flexible software environment that will enable the evaluation of one or multiple (possibly competing) user-defined (or stakeholder) objectives. We introduce the individual software components and outline the communication strategy we defined for the coupled development. We present numerical results for case studies related to crop portfolio management with several defined objectives. The objectives are not optimally satisfied for any single user class, demonstrating the capability of the software tool to aid in the evaluation of a variety of competing interests.

References

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