Articles | Volume 29, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1807-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1807-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
04 Apr 2025
Research article |
| 04 Apr 2025
| 04 Apr 2025
Can adaptations of crop and soil management prevent yield losses during water scarcity? A modeling study
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland
Hydrology, Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Maria Eliza Turek
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland
Bettina Schaefli
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Hydrology, Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Andreas Keiser
Arable farming and plant breeding, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland
Annelie Holzkämper
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland
Related authors
No articles found.
Florentin Hofmeister, Xinyang Fan, Madlene Pfeiffer, Ben Marzeion, Bettina Schaefli, and Gabriele Chiogna
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3256, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3256, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Short summary
We use the WRF model for dynamically downscaling a global reanalysis product for the period 1850 to 2015 for the central European Alps. We demonstrate a workflow for transferring coarse-resolution (2 km) WRF temperature and precipitation to a much finer spatial resolution (25 m) of a physics-based hydrological model (WaSiM) and evaluate the results in a multi-data approach covering different simulation periods. Our results highlight the need for plausible and consistent elevation gradients.
Xinyang Fan, Florentin Hofmeister, Bettina Schaefli, and Gabriele Chiogna
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1500, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1500, 2025
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
We adopt a fully-distributed, physics-based hydrological modeling approach, to understand streamflow variations and their interactions with groundwater in a high-elevation glaciated environment. We demonstrate opportunities and challenges of integrating point-scale groundwater observations into a distributed model. This study sheds new lights on surface-subsurface processes in high alpine environments and highlights the importance of improving subsurface representation in hydrological modeling.
Anne-Laure Argentin, Pascal Horton, Bettina Schaefli, Jamal Shokory, Felix Pitscheider, Leona Repnik, Mattia Gianini, Simone Bizzi, Stuart N. Lane, and Francesco Comiti
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1725–1748, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1725-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1725-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this article, we show that by taking the optimal parameters calibrated with a semi-lumped model for the discharge at a catchment's outlet, we can accurately simulate runoff at various points within the study area, including three nested and three neighboring catchments. In addition, we demonstrate that employing more intricate melt models, which better represent physical processes, enhances the transfer of parameters in the simulation, until we observe overparameterization.
Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, Bettina Schaefli, Ross Woods, and Joshua R. Larsen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1214, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1214, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Investigating changing snow in response to global warming can be done with a simple model and only temperature and precipitation data, simplifying snow dynamics with assumptions and parameters. We provide a large-scale and long-term evaluation of this approach and its performance across diverse climates. Temperature thresholds are more robust over cold climates but melt parameters are more robust over warmer climates with deep snow. The model performs well across climates despite its simplicity.
Tom Müller, Mauro Fischer, Stuart N. Lane, and Bettina Schaefli
The Cryosphere, 19, 423–458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-423-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-423-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Based on extensive field observations in a highly glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps, we develop a combined isotopic and glacio-hydrological model. We show that water stable isotopes may help to better constrain model parameters, especially those linked to water transfer. However, we highlight that separating snow and ice melt for temperate glaciers based on isotope mixing models alone is not advised and should only be considered if their isotopic signatures have clearly different values.
Moctar Dembélé, Mathieu Vrac, Natalie Ceperley, Sander J. Zwart, Josh Larsen, Simon J. Dadson, Grégoire Mariéthoz, and Bettina Schaefli
Proc. IAHS, 385, 121–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-385-121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-385-121-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study assesses the impact of climate change on the timing, seasonality and magnitude of mean annual minimum (MAM) flows and annual maximum flows (AMF) in the Volta River basin (VRB). Several climate change projection data are use to simulate river flow under multiple greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Future projections show that AMF could increase with various magnitude but negligible shift in time across the VRB, while MAM could decrease with up to 14 days of delay in occurrence.
Tom Müller, Matteo Roncoroni, Davide Mancini, Stuart N. Lane, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 735–759, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-735-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-735-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the role of a newly formed floodplain in an alpine glaciated catchment to store and release water. Based on field measurements, we built a numerical model to simulate the water fluxes and show that recharge occurs mainly due to the ice-melt-fed river. We identify three future floodplains, which could emerge from glacier retreat, and show that their combined storage leads to some additional groundwater storage but contributes little additional baseflow for the downstream river.
Maria Eliza Turek, Attila Nemes, and Annelie Holzkämper
SOIL, 9, 545–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-545-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-545-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we systematically evaluated prospective crop transpiration benefits of sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC) under current and future climatic conditions based on the model SWAP. We found that adding at least 2% SOC down to at least 65 cm depth could increase transpiration annually by almost 40 mm, which can play a role in mitigating drought impacts in rain-fed cropping. Beyond this threshold, additional crop transpiration benefits of sequestering SOC are only marginal.
Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, Bettina Schaefli, Ross Woods, Adriaan J. Teuling, and Joshua R. Larsen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2577–2599, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2577-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2577-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We provide a dataset of snow water equivalent, the depth of liquid water that results from melting a given depth of snow. The dataset contains 11 071 sites over the Northern Hemisphere, spans the period 1950–2022, and is based on daily observations of snow depth on the ground and a model. The dataset fills a lack of accessible historical ground snow data, and it can be used for a variety of applications such as the impact of climate change on global and regional snow and water resources.
Alessio Gentile, Davide Canone, Natalie Ceperley, Davide Gisolo, Maurizio Previati, Giulia Zuecco, Bettina Schaefli, and Stefano Ferraris
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2301–2323, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2301-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
What drives young water fraction, F*yw (i.e., the fraction of water in streamflow younger than 2–3 months), variations with elevation? Why is F*yw counterintuitively low in high-elevation catchments, in spite of steeper topography? In this paper, we present a perceptual model explaining how the longer low-flow duration at high elevations, driven by the persistence of winter snowpacks, increases the proportion of stored (old) water contributing to the stream, thus reducing F*yw.
Anthony Michelon, Natalie Ceperley, Harsh Beria, Joshua Larsen, Torsten Vennemann, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1403–1430, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1403-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1403-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Streamflow generation processes in high-elevation catchments are largely influenced by snow accumulation and melt. For this work, we collected and analyzed more than 2800 water samples (temperature, electric conductivity, and stable isotopes of water) to characterize the hydrological processes in such a high Alpine environment. Our results underline the critical role of subsurface flow during all melt periods and the presence of snowmelt even during the winter periods.
Tom Müller, Stuart N. Lane, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6029–6054, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6029-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6029-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This research provides a comprehensive analysis of groundwater storage in Alpine glacier forefields, a zone rapidly evolving with glacier retreat. Based on data analysis of a case study, it provides a simple perceptual model showing where and how groundwater is stored and released in a high Alpine environment. It especially points out the presence of groundwater storages in both fluvial and bedrock aquifers, which may become more important with future glacier retreat.
Feiko Bernard van Zadelhoff, Adel Albaba, Denis Cohen, Chris Phillips, Bettina Schaefli, Luuk Dorren, and Massimiliano Schwarz
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2611–2635, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2611-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2611-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Shallow landslides pose a risk to people, property and infrastructure. Assessment of this hazard and the impact of protective measures can reduce losses. We developed a model (SlideforMAP) that can assess the shallow-landslide risk on a regional scale for specific rainfall events. Trees are an effective and cheap protective measure on a regional scale. Our model can assess their hazard reduction down to the individual tree level.
Alexandre Tuel, Bettina Schaefli, Jakob Zscheischler, and Olivia Martius
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2649–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2649-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2649-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
River discharge is strongly influenced by the temporal structure of precipitation. Here, we show how extreme precipitation events that occur a few days or weeks after a previous event have a larger effect on river discharge than events occurring in isolation. Windows of 2 weeks or less between events have the most impact. Similarly, periods of persistent high discharge tend to be associated with the occurrence of several extreme precipitation events in close succession.
Stefan Brönnimann, Peter Stucki, Jörg Franke, Veronika Valler, Yuri Brugnara, Ralf Hand, Laura C. Slivinski, Gilbert P. Compo, Prashant D. Sardeshmukh, Michel Lang, and Bettina Schaefli
Clim. Past, 18, 919–933, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-919-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-919-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Floods in Europe vary on time scales of several decades. Flood-rich and flood-poor periods alternate. Recently floods have again become more frequent. Long time series of peak stream flow, precipitation, and atmospheric variables reveal that until around 1980, these changes were mostly due to changes in atmospheric circulation. However, in recent decades the role of increasing atmospheric moisture due to climate warming has become more important and is now the main driver of flood changes.
Moctar Dembélé, Mathieu Vrac, Natalie Ceperley, Sander J. Zwart, Josh Larsen, Simon J. Dadson, Grégoire Mariéthoz, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1481–1506, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1481-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1481-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Climate change impacts on water resources in the Volta River basin are investigated under various global warming scenarios. Results reveal contrasting changes in future hydrological processes and water availability, depending on greenhouse gas emission scenarios, with implications for floods and drought occurrence over the 21st century. These findings provide insights for the elaboration of regional adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change.
Adrien Michel, Bettina Schaefli, Nander Wever, Harry Zekollari, Michael Lehning, and Hendrik Huwald
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1063–1087, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1063-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1063-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents an extensive study of climate change impacts on river temperature in Switzerland. Results show that, even for low-emission scenarios, water temperature increase will lead to adverse effects for both ecosystems and socio-economic sectors throughout the 21st century. For high-emission scenarios, the effect will worsen. This study also shows that water seasonal warming will be different between the Alpine regions and the lowlands. Finally, efficiency of models is assessed.
Anthony Michelon, Lionel Benoit, Harsh Beria, Natalie Ceperley, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2301–2325, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2301-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2301-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Rainfall observation remains a challenge, particularly in mountain environments. Unlike most studies which are model based, this analysis of the rainfall–runoff response of a 13.4 km2 alpine catchment is purely data based and relies on measurements from a network of 12 low-cost rain gauges over 3 months. It assesses the importance of high-density rainfall observations in informing hydrological processes and helps in designing a permanent rain gauge network.
Elvira Mächler, Anham Salyani, Jean-Claude Walser, Annegret Larsen, Bettina Schaefli, Florian Altermatt, and Natalie Ceperley
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 735–753, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-735-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-735-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we collected water from an Alpine catchment in Switzerland and compared the genetic information of eukaryotic organisms conveyed by eDNA with the hydrologic information conveyed by naturally occurring hydrologic tracers. At the intersection of two disciplines, our study provides complementary knowledge gains and identifies the next steps to be addressed for using eDNA to achieve complementary insights into Alpine water sources.
Anna E. Sikorska-Senoner, Bettina Schaefli, and Jan Seibert
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3521–3549, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-3521-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-3521-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This work proposes methods for reducing the computational requirements of hydrological simulations for the estimation of very rare floods that occur on average less than once in 1000 years. These methods enable the analysis of long streamflow time series (here for example 10 000 years) at low computational costs and with modelling uncertainty. They are to be used within continuous simulation frameworks with long input time series and are readily transferable to similar simulation tasks.
Moctar Dembélé, Bettina Schaefli, Nick van de Giesen, and Grégoire Mariéthoz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5379–5406, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study evaluates 102 combinations of rainfall and temperature datasets from satellite and reanalysis sources as input to a fully distributed hydrological model. The model is recalibrated for each input dataset, and the outputs are evaluated with streamflow, evaporation, soil moisture and terrestrial water storage data. Results show that no single rainfall or temperature dataset consistently ranks first in reproducing the spatio-temporal variability of all hydrological processes.
Cited articles
Acevedo, S. E., Waterhouse, H., Barrios-Masias, F., Dierks, J., Renwick, L. L. R., and Bowles, T. M.: How does building healthy soils impact sustainable use of water resources in irrigated agriculture?, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 10, 00043, https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00043, 2022. a, b, c
Ahmadi, S. H., Andersen, M. N., Plauborg, F., Poulsen, R. T., Jensen, C. R., Sepaskhah, A. R., and Hansen, S.: Effects of irrigation strategies and soils on field grown potatoes: yield and water productivity, Agr. Water Manage., 97, 1923–1930, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.07.007, 2010. a
Allani, M., Mezzi, R., Zouabi, A., Béji, R., Joumade-Mansouri, F., Hamza, M. E., and Sahli, A.: Impact of future climate change on water supply and irrigation demand in a small mediterranean catchment. Case study: Nebhana dam system, Tunisia, J. Water Clim. Change, 11, 1724–1747, https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2019.131, 2020. a, b
Allen, R., Pereira, L., Raes, D., and Smith, M.: FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56. Crop Evapotranspiration: Guidelines for Computing Crop Water Requirements, Report, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, ISBN 92J5J104219J5, 1998. a
Arnold, J., Moriasi, D., Gassman, P., Abbaspour, K., White, M., Srinivasan, R., Santhi, C., Harmel, R., van Griensven, A., Van Liew, M., Kannan, N., and Jha, M.: SWAT: Model Use, Calibration, and Validation, T. ASABE, 55, 1491–1508, https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.42256, 2012. a
Bodner, G., Nakhforoosh, A., and Kaul, H. P.: Management of crop water under drought: a review, Agron. Sustain. Dev., 35, 401–442, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-015-0283-4, 2015. a, b, c
Bolinder, M. A., Crotty, F., Elsen, A., Frac, M., Kismányoky, T., Lipiec, J., Tits, M., Tóth, Z., and Kätterer, T.: The effect of crop residues, cover crops, manures and nitrogen fertilization on soil organic carbon changes in agroecosystems: a synthesis of reviews, Mitig. Adapt. Strat. Gl., 25, 929–952, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-020-09916-3, 2020. a, b
Bonfante, A., Basile, A., Acutis, M., De Mascellis, R., Manna, P., Perego, A., and Terribile, F.: SWAP, CropSyst and MACRO comparison in two contrasting soils cropped with maize in Northern Italy, Agr. Water Manage., 97, 1051–1062, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.02.010, 2010. a
Brochet, E., Grusson, Y., Sauvage, S., Lhuissier, L., and Demarez, V.: How to account for irrigation withdrawals in a watershed model, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 49–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-49-2024, 2024. a, b
CH2018: CH2018 – Climate Scenarios for Switzerland. Technical Report, National Centre for Climate Services, ISBN 978-3-9525031-4-0, 2018. a
Chang, D. C., Jin, Y. I., Nam, J. H., Cheon, C. G., Cho, J. H., Kim, S. J., and Yu, H.-S.: Early drought effect on canopy development and tuber growth of potato cultivars with different maturities, Field Crop. Res., 215, 156–162, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2017.10.008, 2018. a
Cyano, T., Aydin, M., and Haraguchi, T.: Impact of climate change on irrigation deman and crop growth in a mediterranean environment of Turkey, Sensors, 7, 2297–2315, 2007. a
de Wit, A. and Boogaard, H.: Gentle Introduction to WOFOST, Report, Wageningen University, 2021. a
Eden, M., Gerke, H. H., and Houot, S.: Organic waste recycling in agriculture and related effects on soil water retention and plant available water: a review, Agron. Sustain. Dev., 37, 11, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0419-9, 2017. a, b, c, d
Fahad, S., Bajwa, A. A., Nazir, U., Anjum, S. A., Farooq, A., Zohaib, A., Sadia, S., Nasim, W., Adkins, S., Saud, S., Ihsan, M. Z., Alharby, H., Wu, C., Wang, D., and Huang, J.: Crop production under drought and heat stress: plant responses and management options, Front. Plant Sci., 8, 1147, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.01147, 2017. a, b
Feddes, R., Kowalik, P., and Zaradny, H.: Simulation of field water use and crop yield, Simulation monographs, Wiley, ISBN 90-220-0676-X, 1978. a
Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG): Agrarinformationssystem AGIS 2023. Individual-Farm Database of the Federal Office for Agriculture, FOAG, 2023b. a
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN): Abfluss Jahrestabellen. Broye-Payerne 2003, https://www.hydrodaten.admin.ch/de/2034.html (last access: 20 April 2024), 2015. a
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN): Abfluss Jahrestabellen. Broye-Payerne 2015, https://www.hydrodaten.admin.ch/de/2034.html (last access: 20 April 2024), 2017. a
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN): Hitze und Trockenheit im Sommer 2018. Auswirkungen auf Mensch und Umwelt, Report, Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), 2019. a
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN): Abfluss Jahrestabellen. Broye-Payerne 2018, https://www.hydrodaten.admin.ch/de/2034.html (last access: 20 April 2024), 2020. a
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN): Broye – Payerne, Caserne d'aviation, https://www.hydrodaten.admin.ch/de/seen-und-fluesse/stationen-und-daten/2034 (last access: 20 April 2024), 2023. a
Floriancic, M. G., Berghuijs, W. R., Molnar, P., and Kirchner, J. W.: Seasonality and drivers of low flows across Europe and the United States, Water Resour. Res., 57, e2019WR026928, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr026928, 2021. a
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO): Introducing Aquacrop, Report, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO), 2016. a
Gorguner, M. and Kavvas, M. L.: Modeling impacts of future climate change on reservoir storages and irrigation water demands in a Mediterranean basin, Sci. Total Environ., 748, 141246, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141246, 2020. a, b, c
Gross, A. and Glaser, B.: Meta-analysis on how manure application changes soil organic carbon storage, Sci. Rep., 11, 5516, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82739-7, 2021. a, b, c
Gu, Z., Qi, Z., Burghate, R., Yuan, S., Jiao, X., and Xu, J.: Irrigation scheduling approaches and applications: a review, J. Irrig. Drain. E., 146, 04020007-1–04020007-15, https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)ir.1943-4774.0001464, 2020. a
He, Y., Zheng, Y., Chen, X., Liu, B., and Tan, Q.: Water resources allocation considering water supply and demand uncertainties using newsvendor model-based framework, Sci. Rep., 13, 13639, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40692-7, 2023. a
Heinz, M.: MalveHeinz/SWAP_regional: Version_1, Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13866022, 2025. a
Hirte, J., Leifeld, J., Abiven, S., Oberholzer, H.-R., and Mayer, J.: Below ground carbon inputs to soil via root biomass and rhizodeposition of field-grown maize and wheat at harvest are independent of net primary productivity, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 265, 556–566, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.07.010, 2018. a, b
Holland, J. M.: The environmental consequences of adopting conservation tillage in Europe: reviewing the evidence, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 103, 1–25, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2003.12.018, 2004. a
Hou, X., Li, R., Jia, Z., Han, Q., Wang, W., and Yang, B.: Effects of rotational tillage practices on soil properties, winter wheat yields and water-use efficiency in semi-arid areas of north-west China, Field Crop. Res., 129, 7–13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2011.12.021, 2012. a, b
Hu, S., Shi, L., Huang, K., Zha, Y., Hu, X., Ye, H., and Yang, Q.: Improvement of sugarcane crop simulation by SWAP-WOFOST model via data assimilation, Field Crop. Res., 232, 49–61, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2018.12.009, 2019. a
Husson, F., Le, S., and Pagès, J.: Exploratory Multivariate Analysis by Example Using R, Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2nd edn., https://doi.org/10.1201/b21874, 2017. a
IPCC: Synthesis report of the IPCC sixth Assessment Report (AR6), Report, IPCC, https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647, 2023. a, b
Jarvis, N.: The MACRO Model (Version 3.1): Technical Description and Sample Simulations, model descritption, 1994. a
Jarvis, N. J.: Simple physics-based models of compensatory plant water uptake: concepts and eco-hydrological consequences, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 3431–3446, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-3431-2011, 2011. a
Joseph, N., Ryu, D., Malano, H. M., George, B., and Sudheer, K. P.: A review of the assessment of sustainable water use at continental-to-global scale, Sustainable Water Resources Management, 6, 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-020-00379-7, 2020. a
Kader, M. A., Singha, A., Begum, M. A., Jewel, A., Khan, F. H., and Khan, N. I.: Mulching as water-saving technique in dryland agriculture: review article, Bulletin of the National Research Centre, 43, 147, https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-019-0186-7, 2019. a
Kaspar, M., Kellermann, A., Landzettel, C., Steppich, F., Peters, R., Dennert, H., and Müller, M.: Bewässerung von Kartoffeln, Report, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Landtechnik und Landwirtschaftliches Bauwesen in Bayern e.V., 2020. a
Keel, S. G., Bretscher, D., Leifeld, J., von Ow, A., and Wüst-Galley, C.: Soil carbon sequestration potential bounded by population growth, land availability, food production, and climate change, Carbon Manag., 14, 2244456, https://doi.org/10.1080/17583004.2023.2244456, 2023. a
Kennan, N., Roy, S., Rath, J., Munill, C., and Goldstein, R.: Estimating crop consumption of irrigation water for the conterminous US, Transactions of the American Society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers, 62, 984–1002, 2019. a
Krauss, M., Wiesmeier, M., Don, A., Cuperus, F., Gattinger, A., Gruber, S., Haagsma, W. K., Peigné, J., Palazzoli, M. C., Schulz, F., van der Heijden, M. G. A., Vincent-Caboud, L., Wittwer, R. A., Zikeli, S., and Steffens, M.: Reduced tillage in organic farming affects soil organic carbon stocks in temperate Europe, Soil Till. Res., 216, 105262, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2021.105262, 2022. a, b
Kreins, P., Henseler, M., Anter, J., Herrmann, F., and Wendland, F.: Quantification of Climate Change Impact on Regional Agricultural Irrigation and Groundwater Demand, Water Resour. Manag., 29, 3585–3600, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-015-1017-8, 2015. a
Lalehzari, R. and Kerachian, R.: An integrated framework for optimal irrigation planning under uncertainty: application of soil, water, atmosphere and plant modeling, IJST-T. Civ. Eng., 45, 429–442, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40996-020-00442-5, 2020. a
Leng, G. and Hall, J.: Crop yield sensitivity of global major agricultural countries to droughts and the projected changes in the future, Sci. Total Environ., 654, 811–821, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.434, 2019. a, b
Maier, N. and Dietrich, J.: Using SWAT for strategic planning of basin scale irrigation control policies: a case study from a humid region in Northern Germany, Water Resour. Manag., 30, 3285–3298, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1348-0, 2016. a
Masia, S., Trabucco, A., Spano, D., Snyder, R. L., Sušnik, J., and Marras, S.: A modelling platform for climate change impact on local and regional crop water requirements, Agr. Water Manage., 255, 107005, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107005, 2021. a
Moussa, R., Voltz, M., and Andrieux, P.: Effects of the spatial organization of agricultural management on the hydrological behaviour of a farmed catchment during flood events, Hydrol. Process., 16, 393–412, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.333, 2002. a
Mulumba, L. N. and Lal, R.: Mulching effects on selected soil physical properties, Soil Till. Res., 98, 106–111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2007.10.011, 2008. a
Müller Schmied, H., Cáceres, D., Eisner, S., Flörke, M., Herbert, C., Niemann, C., Peiris, T. A., Popat, E., Portmann, F. T., Reinecke, R., Schumacher, M., Shadkam, S., Telteu, C.-E., Trautmann, T., and Döll, P.: The global water resources and use model WaterGAP v2.2d: model description and evaluation, Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 1037–1079, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-1037-2021, 2021. a
Nasir, M. W. and Toth, Z.: Effect of drought stress on potato production: a review, Agronomy, 12, 635, https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030635, 2022. a
Noory, H., van der Zee, S. E. A. T. M., Liaghat, A. M., Parsinejad, M., and van Dam, J. C.: Distributed agro-hydrological modeling with SWAP to improve water and salt management of the Voshmgir Irrigation and Drainage Network in Northern Iran, Agr. Water Manage., 98, 1062–1070, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2011.01.013, 2011. a, b
Obidiegwu, J. E., Bryan, G. J., Jones, H. G., and Prashar, A.: Coping with drought: stress and adaptive responses in potato and perspectives for improvement, Front. Plant Sci., 6, 542, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00542, 2015. a, b
Porter, G. A., Bradbury, W. B., Sisson, J. A., Opena, G. B., and McBurnie, J. C.: Soil management and supplemental irrigation effects on potato: I. Soil properties, tuber yield, and quality, Agron. J., 91, 416–425, https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1999.00021962009100030010x, 1999. a, b, c
Puy, A., Piano, S. L., Saltelli, A., and Levin, S. A.: sensobol: an R package to compute variance-based sensitivity indices, J. Stat. Softw., 102, 1–37, https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v102.i05, 2022. a, b, c
Rykaczewska, K.: Impact of heat and drought stresses on size and quality of the potato yield, Plant Soil Environ., 63, 40–46, https://doi.org/10.17221/691/2016-pse, 2017. a
Samimi, M., Mirchi, A., Moriasi, D., Ahn, S., Alian, S., Taghvaeian, S., and Sheng, Z.: Modeling arid/semi-arid irrigated agricultural watersheds with SWAT: applications, challenges, and solution strategies, J. Hydrol., 590, 125418, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125418, 2020. a
Schaffner, L. and Mastrullo, J.: Diagnostic des besoins en eau d'irrigation dans le canton de Vaud, Report, MandaTerre sàrl, Canton du Vaud, Département de l'intérieur Service du développement territorial Division améliorations foncières, 2013. a
School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL: Datengrundlage und künftige Datenerfassung zur landwirtschaftlichen Bewässerung in der Schweiz Projekt “Swiss Irrigation Info”: Schlussbericht Modul 1, Report, https://www.bfh.ch/dam/jcr:0e6320b6-d140-4911-8c72-ea8f66eab7c7/final_Schlussbericht Modul 1 190427.pdf (last access: 26 March 2025), 2023. a, b
Schulla, J.: Model Description WaSiM, Report, http://www.wasim.ch/downloads/doku/wasim/wasim_2021_en.pdf (last access: 26 March 2025), 2021. a
Schwärzel, R., Torche, J.-M., de Werra, P., and Dupuis, B.: Schweizer Sortenliste für Kartoffeln 2023, Agroscope Transfer, 453, 2296–7214, 2022. a
Skadell, L. E., Schneider, F., Gocke, M. I., Guigue, J., Amelung, W., Bauke, S. L., Hobley, E. U., Barkusky, D., Honermeier, B., Kögel-Knabner, I., Schmidhalter, U., Schweitzer, K., Seidel, S. J., Siebert, S., Sommer, M., Vaziritabar, Y., and Don, A.: Twenty percent of agricultural management effects on organic carbon stocks occur in subsoils – Results of ten long-term experiments, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 356, 108619, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108619, 2023. a, b
Sprain, L. and Timpson, W. M.: Pedagogy for sustainability science: case-based approaches for interdisciplinary instruction, Environ. Commun., 6, 532–550, https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2012.714394, 2012. a
Stahn, P., Busch, S., Salzmann, T., Eichler-Löbermann, B., and Miegel, K.: Combining global sensitivity analysis and multiobjective optimisation to estimate soil hydraulic properties and representations of various sole and mixed crops for the agro-hydrological SWAP model, Environ. Earth Sci., 76, 367, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6701-y, 2017. a
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI): WEAP Water Evaluation And Planning System, Report, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), 2015. a
Stoeckle, C., Donatelli, M., and Nelson, R.: CropSyst, a cropping systems simulation model, Eur. J. Agron., 18, 289–397, 2003. a
Stoeckli, R.: The HelioMont Surface Solar Radiation Processing (2022 Version), Report, MeteoSwiss, 2013. a
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI): HYPE model description, Report, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), 2023. a
Szabó, B., Weynants, M., and Weber, T. K. D.: Updated European hydraulic pedotransfer functions with communicated uncertainties in the predicted variables (euptfv2), Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 151–175, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-151-2021, 2021. a
Taylor, C. H. B. and Priestley, R. J.: On the assessment of surface heat flux and evaporation using large-scale parameters, Mon. Weather Rev., 100, 81–92, 1972. a
ten Den, T., van de Wiel, I., de Wit, A., van Evert, F. K., van Ittersum, M. K., and Reidsma, P.: Modelling potential potato yields: accounting for experimental differences in modern cultivars, Eur. J. Agron., 137, 126510, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2022.126510, 2022. a, b, c
Toreti, A., Bavera, D., Acosta Navarro, J., Cammalleri, C., de Jager, A., Di Ciollo, C., Hrast Essenfelder, A., Maetens, W., Magni, D., Masante, D., Mazzeschi, M., Niemeyer, S., and Spinoni, J.: Drought in Europe August 2022, Report JRC130493, https://doi.org/10.2760/264241, 2022a. a
Toreti, A., Masante, D., Acosta, D., Navarro, J., Bavera, D., Cammalleri, C., De Felipe, M., de Jager, A., Ciollo, C., Maetens, W., Magni, D., Mazzeschi, D., and Spioni, J.: Drought in Europe July 2022, Report, European Comission, https://doi.org/10.2760/014884, 2022b. a
Turek, M. E., Nemes, A., and Holzkämper, A.: Sequestering carbon in the subsoil benefits crop transpiration at the onset of drought, SOIL, 9, 545–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-545-2023, 2023. a, b, c, d
Utset, A., Velicia, H., del Río, B., Morillo, R., Centeno, J. A., and Martínez, J. C.: Calibrating and validating an agrohydrological model to simulate sugarbeet water use under mediterranean conditions, Agr. Water Manage., 94, 11–21, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2007.07.007, 2007. a, b
van Dam, J. C., Groenendijk, P., Hendriks, R. F. A., and Kroes, J. G.: Advances of modeling water flow in variably saturated soils with SWAP, Vadose Zone J., 7, 640–653, https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2007.0060, 2008. a, b
van Genuchten, M. T. V.: A Closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44, 892–898, 1980. a
Wada, Y., Wisser, D., and Bierkens, M. F. P.: Global modeling of withdrawal, allocation and consumptive use of surface water and groundwater resources, Earth Syst. Dynam., 5, 15–40, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-5-15-2014, 2014. a
Weber, T. K. D., Weihermüller, L., Nemes, A., Bechtold, M., Degré, A., Diamantopoulos, E., Fatichi, S., Filipović, V., Gupta, S., Hohenbrink, T. L., Hirmas, D. R., Jackisch, C., de Jong van Lier, Q., Koestel, J., Lehmann, P., Marthews, T. R., Minasny, B., Pagel, H., van der Ploeg, M., Shojaeezadeh, S. A., Svane, S. F., Szabó, B., Vereecken, H., Verhoef, A., Young, M., Zeng, Y., Zhang, Y., and Bonetti, S.: Hydro-pedotransfer functions: a roadmap for future development, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3391–3433, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3391-2024, 2024. a, b
Wesseling, J., Kroes, J., Campos Oliveira, T., and Damiano, F.: The impact of sensitivity and uncertainty of soil physical parameters on the terms of the water balance: some case studies with default R packages. Part I: Theory, methods and case descriptions, Comput. Electron. Agr., 170, 105054, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2019.105054, 2020. a, b
Wezel, A., Casagrande, M., Celette, F., Vian, J.-F., Ferrer, A., and Peigné, J.: Agroecological practices for sustainable agriculture. A review, Agron. Sustain. Dev., 34, 1–20, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-013-0180-7, 2014. a, b
Wiesmeier, M., Poeplau, C., Sierra, C. A., Maier, H., Fruhauf, C., Hubner, R., Kuhnel, A., Sporlein, P., Geuss, U., Hangen, E., Schilling, B., von Lutzow, M., and Kogel-Knabner, I.: Projected loss of soil organic carbon in temperate agricultural soils in the 21(st) century: effects of climate change and carbon input trends, Sci. Rep., 6, 32525, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep32525, 2016. a
Wriedt, G., Van der Velde, M., Aloe, A., and Bouraoui, F.: Estimating irrigation water requirements in Europe, J. Hydrol., 373, 527–544, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.05.018, 2009. a
Wu, L.: Sequestering organic carbon in soils through land use change and agricultural practices: a review, Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 10, 210–225, https://doi.org/10.15302/j-fase-2022474, 2022. a
Xu, X., Sun, C., Huang, G., and Mohanty, B. P.: Global sensitivity analysis and calibration of parameters for a physically-based agro-hydrological model, Environ. Modell. Softw., 83, 88–102, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.05.013, 2016. a, b
Yang, D., Yang, Y., and Xia, J.: Hydrological cycle and water resources in a changing world: a review, Geography and Sustainability, 2, 115–122, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2021.05.003, 2021. a
Zhang, Y., Wu, Z., Singh, V. P., Su, Q., He, H., Yin, H., Zhang, Y., and Wang, F.: Simulation of Crop Water Demand and Consumption Considering Irrigation Effects Based on Coupled Hydrology Crop Growth Model, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 13, e2020MS002360, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ms002360, 2021. a
Short summary
Potato farmers in Switzerland are facing drier conditions and water restrictions. We explored how improving soil health and planting early-maturing potato varieties might help them to adapt. Using a computer model, we simulated potato yields and irrigation water needs under water scarcity. Our results show that earlier-maturing potato varieties reduce the reliance on irrigation but result in lower yields. However, improving soil health can significantly reduce yield losses.
Potato farmers in Switzerland are facing drier conditions and water restrictions. We explored...
