SVAT modeling over the Alpilles-ReSeDA experiment: comparing SVAT models over wheat fields

Remote sensing is an interesting tool for monitoring crop production, energy exchanges and mass exchanges between the soil, the biosphere and the atmosphere. The aim of the Alpilles-ReSeDA program was the development of such techniques combining remote sensing data, and soil and vegetation process models. This article focuses on SVAT models (Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer models) which may be used for monitoring energy and mass exchanges by using assimilation of remote sensing data procedures. As a first step, we decided to implement a model comparison experiment with the aim of analyzing the relationships between the models' complexity, validity and potential for assimilating remote sensing data. This experiment involved the definition of three comparison scenarios with different objectives: (i) test the models' capacity to accurately describe processes using input parameters as measured in the field; (ii) test the portability of the models by using a priori information on input parameters (such as pedotransfer functions), and (iii) test the robustness of the models by a calibration/validation procedure. These 3 scenarios took advantage of the experimental network that was implemented during the Alpilles experiment and which combined measurements on different fields that may be used for calibration of models and their validations on independent data sets. The results showed that the models' performances were close whatever their complexity. The simpler models were less sensitive to the specification of input parameters. Significant improvements in the models' results were achieved when calibrating the models in comparison with the first scenario