Process Crop Models: Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC)

Description EPIC is an IBM, Macintosh, or Sun based generalized crop model that simulates daily crop growth on a hectare scale. Like most process plant growth models, it predicts plant biomass by simulating carbon fixation by photosynthesis, maintenance respiration, and growth respiration. Several different crops may be grown in rotation within one model execution. It uses the concept of light-use efficiency as a function of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) to predict biomass. EPIC has been modified to simulate the direct effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide on plant growth and water use. Crop management is explicitly incorporated into the model.