IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v311y2025ics0378377425001003.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From weather data to water fluxes simulation in Mediterranean greenhouses through a combined climate and hydrological modelling approach

Author

Listed:
  • la Cecilia, D.
  • Venezia, A.
  • Massa, D.
  • Camporese, M.

Abstract

In the Mediterranean basin, agricultural land covered by greenhouses has been surging in the recent decades. The main goal of this study is to provide estimates of water demand and fluxes in Mediterranean greenhouses starting from outdoor weather data. This is achieved by developing a novel agricultural water modelling framework that combines a greenhouse climate model with a Richards equation-based hydrological model. We improve and evaluate an existing greenhouse climate model with greenhouse data from an experiment using rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) as the candidate crop in South Italy for its market importance. The first major improvement regards the iterative estimation of the potential crop evapotranspiration using the FAO56 Penman Monteith method, adapted for greenhouse conditions, at the hourly scale, rather than a locally calibrated formula. The second one concerns the full coupling between the heat balance equations of the air and the soil compartments. The greenhouse climate model was able to simulate with satisfying accuracy the measured indoor air temperature (r2=0.58 and KGE=0.76) and relative humidity (r2=0.47 and KGE=0.67). Importantly, the crop potential evapotranspiration estimated from climate data either measured indoor or simulated with the greenhouse model were identical. Next, the hydrological model CATchment HYdrology (CATHY) was evaluated in the same experimental setting but different period (rocket in autumn and spring growing conditions), under sprinkler and subsurface drip irrigation. The CATHY model, fed with irrigation data and crop potential evapotranspiration estimated from measured indoor climate, reproduced well the measured soil water content dynamics at five depths (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 cm), despite some bias due to the lack of soil-specific sensor calibration. While the proposed modelling framework is currently coupled in a one-way manner, it has the potential to unlock valuable knowledge for the enhancement of our understanding of greenhouse farming implications on water management at plot and larger scales.

Suggested Citation

  • la Cecilia, D. & Venezia, A. & Massa, D. & Camporese, M., 2025. "From weather data to water fluxes simulation in Mediterranean greenhouses through a combined climate and hydrological modelling approach," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:311:y:2025:i:c:s0378377425001003
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109386
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001003
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109386?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Incrocci, Luca & Thompson, Rodney B. & Fernandez-Fernandez, María Dolores & De Pascale, Stefania & Pardossi, Alberto & Stanghellini, Cecilia & Rouphael, Youssef & Gallardo, Marisa, 2020. "Irrigation management of European greenhouse vegetable crops," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    2. Theodoros Mastrotheodoros & Christoforos Pappas & Peter Molnar & Paolo Burlando & Gabriele Manoli & Juraj Parajka & Riccardo Rigon & Borbala Szeles & Michele Bottazzi & Panagiotis Hadjidoukas & Simone, 2020. "More green and less blue water in the Alps during warmer summers," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(2), pages 155-161, February.
    3. Berrueta, Cecilia & Grasso, Rafael & García, Claudio & Thompson, Rodney B. & Gallardo, Marisa, 2023. "Use of the VegSyst model to simulate seasonal dry matter production, N and K uptake and evapotranspiration in greenhouse soil-grown tomato in Uruguay," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    4. Bonachela, Santiago & Fernández, María Dolores & Cabrera, Francisco Javier & Granados, María Rosa, 2018. "Soil spatio-temporal distribution of water, salts and nutrients in greenhouse, drip-irrigated tomato crops using lysimetry and dielectric methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 151-161.
    5. Fernandez, M.D. & Gonzalez, A.M. & Carreno, J. & Perez, C. & Bonachela, S., 2007. "Analysis of on-farm irrigation performance in Mediterranean greenhouses," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 251-260, May.
    6. Katzin, David & van Henten, Eldert J. & van Mourik, Simon, 2022. "Process-based greenhouse climate models: Genealogy, current status, and future directions," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    7. Varble, J.L. & Chávez, J.L., 2011. "Performance evaluation and calibration of soil water content and potential sensors for agricultural soils in eastern Colorado," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 93-106.
    8. Phogat, V. & Šimůnek, J. & Skewes, M.A. & Cox, J.W. & McCarthy, M.G., 2016. "Improving the estimation of evaporation by the FAO-56 dual crop coefficient approach under subsurface drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 189-200.
    9. Xuhui Wang & Chuang Zhao & Christoph Müller & Chenzhi Wang & Philippe Ciais & Ivan Janssens & Josep Peñuelas & Senthold Asseng & Tao Li & Joshua Elliott & Yao Huang & Laurent Li & Shilong Piao, 2020. "Emergent constraint on crop yield response to warmer temperature from field experiments," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(11), pages 908-916, November.
    10. Bonachela, Santiago & Fernández, María Dolores & Hernández, Joaquín & Karaca, Cihan, 2024. "Computing air temperature and humidity for reference crop evapotranspiration calculation in passive Mediterranean greenhouses," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    11. Wade, Christopher M. & Baker, Justin S. & Van Houtven, George & Cai, Yongxia & Lord, Benjamin & Castellanos, Edwin & Leiva, Benjamín & Fuentes, Gabriela & Alfaro, Gabriela & Kondash, AJ & Henry, Candi, 2022. "Opportunities and spatial hotspots for irrigation expansion in Guatemala to support development goals in the food-energy-water nexus," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bonachela, Santiago & Fernández, María Dolores & Cabrera-Corral, Francisco Javier & Granados, María Rosa, 2022. "Salt and irrigation management of soil-grown Mediterranean greenhouse tomato crops drip-irrigated with moderately saline water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    2. Huertas-Fernández, F. & Suárez-Rey, E.M. & Ramón, C.L. & Giménez, C. & Rueda, F.J., 2025. "The value of simulating the soil water and nitrogen dynamics in decision support systems for plot-scale agro-environmental management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    3. Li Yang & Haijun Liu & Shabtai Cohen & Zhuangzhuang Gao, 2022. "Microclimate and Plant Transpiration of Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) in a Sunken Solar Greenhouse in North China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Cedeño, J. & Magán, J.J. & Thompson, R.B. & Fernández, M.D. & Gallardo, M., 2023. "Reducing nutrient loss in drainage from tomato grown in free-draining substrate in greenhouses using dynamic nutrient management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    5. Phogat, V. & Cox, J.W. & Šimůnek, J., 2018. "Identifying the future water and salinity risks to irrigated viticulture in the Murray-Darling Basin, South Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 107-117.
    6. Phogat, V. & Skewes, M.A. & McCarthy, M.G. & Cox, J.W. & Šimůnek, J. & Petrie, P.R., 2017. "Evaluation of crop coefficients, water productivity, and water balance components for wine grapes irrigated at different deficit levels by a sub-surface drip," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 22-34.
    7. Lidia Roca & Jorge A. Sánchez & Francisco Rodríguez & Javier Bonilla & Alberto De la Calle & Manuel Berenguel, 2016. "Predictive Control Applied to a Solar Desalination Plant Connected to a Greenhouse with Daily Variation of Irrigation Water Demand," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-17, March.
    8. Pedro Garcia-Caparros & Juana Isabel Contreras & Rafael Baeza & Maria Luz Segura & Maria Teresa Lao, 2017. "Integral Management of Irrigation Water in Intensive Horticultural Systems of Almería," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Chen Cao & Miaomiao Ying, 2025. "Assessing Water Resource Vulnerability in an Agricultural Basin for Climate Change Adaptation," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 39(1), pages 179-205, January.
    10. Jennifer Hoponick Redmon & Riley E. Mulhern & Edwin Castellanos & Erica Wood & Andrea McWilliams & Isabel Herrera & Chamindu Liyanapatirana & Frank Weber & Keith Levine & Evan Thorp & Nichole Bynum & , 2022. "A Participatory Science Approach to Evaluating Factors Associated with the Occurrence of Metals and PFAS in Guatemala City Tap Water," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    11. Wang, Jingwei & Li, Yuan & Niu, Wenquan, 2021. "Effect of alternating drip irrigation on soil gas emissions, microbial community composition, and root–soil interactions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    12. Pizarro, E. & Galleguillos, M. & Barría, P. & Callejas, R., 2022. "Irrigation management or climate change ? Which is more important to cope with water shortage in the production of table grape in a Mediterranean context," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    13. Chang, Jie & Wu, Xu & Liu, Anqin & Wang, Yan & Xu, Bin & Yang, Wu & Meyerson, Laura A. & Gu, Baojing & Peng, Changhui & Ge, Ying, 2011. "Assessment of net ecosystem services of plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(4), pages 740-748, February.
    14. Shao, Guomin & Han, Wenting & Zhang, Huihui & Liu, Shouyang & Wang, Yi & Zhang, Liyuan & Cui, Xin, 2021. "Mapping maize crop coefficient Kc using random forest algorithm based on leaf area index and UAV-based multispectral vegetation indices," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    15. Jason Alexandra, 2021. "Navigating the Anthropocene’s rivers of risk—climatic change and science-policy dilemmas in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-21, March.
    16. Wei Yang & Xingsheng Song & Yangbo He & Bige Chen & Ying Zhou & Jiazhou Chen, 2023. "Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon Density Fractions in Aggregates as Influenced by Salts and Microbial Community," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, November.
    17. Gavilan, Pedro & Higueras, José L. & Lozano, David & Ruiz, Natividad, 2024. "The Riego Berry mobile application: A powerful tool to improve on-farm irrigation performance in berry crops," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    18. Ignacio Lorite & Margarita García-Vila & María-Ascensión Carmona & Cristina Santos & María-Auxiliadora Soriano, 2012. "Assessment of the Irrigation Advisory Services’ Recommendations and Farmers’ Irrigation Management: A Case Study in Southern Spain," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2397-2419, June.
    19. Moreno-Pérez, M. Fátima & Roldán-Cañas, José, 2013. "Assessment of irrigation water management in the Genil-Cabra (Córdoba, Spain) irrigation district using irrigation indicators," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 98-106.
    20. Martínez-Alvarez, V. & García-Bastida, P.A. & Martin-Gorriz, B. & Soto-García, M., 2014. "Adaptive strategies of on-farm water management under water supply constraints in south-eastern Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 59-67.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:311:y:2025:i:c:s0378377425001003. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.