APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator) software is a modular modelling framework that has been developed by APSRU (Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit) in Australia.
APSIM was developed to simulate biophysical processes in farming systems, particularly
as it relates to the economic and ecological outcomes of management practices in the face
of climate risk.
APSIM is structured around plant, soil and management modules. These modules include a
diverse range of crops, pastures and trees, soil processes including water balance, N and P
transformations, soil pH, erosion and a full range of management controls.
APSIM resulted from a need for tools that provided accurate predictions of crop production
in relation to climate, genotype, soil and management factor while addressing the long-term
resource management issues.
The APSIM modelling framework is made up of the following components:
- A set of biophysical modules that simulate biological and physical
processes in farming systems.
- A set of management modules that allow the user to specify the intended
management rules that characterise the scenario being
simulated and that control the simulation.
- Various modules to facilitate data input and output to and from the simulation.
- A simulation engine that drives the simulation process
and facilitates communication between the independent modules.
In addition to the science and infrastructure elements of the APSIM simulator, the
framework also includes:
- Various user interfaces for model construction, testing and application
- Various interfaces and association database tools for visualisation and
further analysis of output.
- Various model development, testing and documentation tools.
- A web based user and developer support facility that provides documentation,
distribution and defect/change request tracking.
APSIM has been used in a broad range of applications including:
- support for on-farm decision making,
- farming systems design for production or resource management,
- assessment of the value of seasonal climate forecasting,
- analysis of supply chain issues in agribusiness,
- development of waste management guidelines,
- risk assessment for policy making and
- as a guide for research and educational activities.
One of the main benefits of APSIM is the ability to
integrate models derived in fragmented research efforts. This enables
research from one discipline or domain to be transported to the benefit of
some other discipline or domain. It also facilitates comparison of models
or sub-models on a common platform.
