APSIM & The APSIM

Initiative

History
The Agricultural Production Systems
Research Unit (APSRU) was founded in
the early 1990s to bring together like
minded scientists in the field of farming
systems research.
Parties were CSIRO and the State of Qld.
APSRU grew out of work pioneered in
Queensland, it developed APSIM and
had a large portfolio of collaborative
projects.
In 2006, it was recommended that
APSIM development be split from the
farming systems research

APSRU

APSRU is now an informal collaborative

network
Collaboration is around farming systems,
climate risk management and adaptation, and
crop adaptation and improvement R&D
Meeting point to discuss science opportunities,
share knowledge, ideas and learnings and
develop new collaborative projects

The APSIM Initiative

The APSIM initiative (AI) has been established to
promote the development and use of the science
modules and infrastructure software of APSIM.
The AI records a shift in focus in how APSIM is
managed. APSIM development, maintenance and
commercialisation are now the responsibility of the AI
and so are now separate from the research-oriented
projects activities.
The Foundation Members of the AI are CSIRO, the
State of Queensland (DAFF) and The University of
Queensland. New parties are welcome to join at any
time.
Purpose:
Ongoing development and maintenance of a world
class framework for the testing and simulating of
agricultural systems

AI Technical & Business Agenda

An open and transparent APSIM Community
Source Framework (modified open source)
Aims to facilitate broadly based, collaborative
science
Best practice software development &
maintenance
Version control process
Science quality control
Scientific Reference Panel acts like an editorial
board
IP & risk management
APSIM training & support
Free public good licensing (R&D and
education)
Commercial delivery arrangements
Approved by Steering Committee

What is APSIM?
A highly advanced agricultural systems
model created:
to model system performance over time
with an equal emphasis on crop and soil
dimensions
with a capability to deal comprehensively with
management matters
Development and maintenance is underpinned
by rigorous science and software engineering
standards

Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM)

The soil provides a central focus, crops, seasons and

managers come and go, finding the soil in one state
and leaving it in another
Features:
mechanistic growth of crops, pastures, trees, weeds
...
dynamics of populations (eg. weed seedbank)
key soil processes (water, solutes, N, P, carbon, pH)
surface residue dynamics & erosion
dryland or irrigated systems
range of management options
crop rotations + fallowing + mixtures
short or long term effects
one or two (multi-point) dimensions
high software engineering standards
Supports multiple languages

APSIM Plug-in / Pull-out

modularity
Climate

Livestock

Field 2

Farm
Management

Field 1

Crop B

Crop A

Output

Soil
Water

Surface
Field
Organic
Management
Matter
Soil
Nitrogen

Toolbox

Soil
Phosphorus

APSIM Modules
Red modules built as part of
international collaboration.
Plant / animal

wheat sorghum
sugarcane chickpea potato
mungbeansoybean bambatsi
navybean peanut
barley
maize sunflower oats
lucerne
oil palm
fababean canola
lupin mucuna
cowpea
lablab pearl millet
pigeonpea rice
cotton
Trees (Eucalyptus)
Pastures
Weeds (C3,C4 grass,herb)
Stock

Environment
Met MicroMet
SoilWat (tipping bucket)
SWIM (Richards eqn)
SoilN SoilP
Solute
SurfaceOrganicMatter
Erosion SoilTemp
WaterStorage
Management
Manager (sow, harvest, fallow, tillage)
Irrigation
Fertiliser
Intercrop/mixture competition

Animals in APSIM
Developed by
CSIRO Plant Industry

AusFarm
Weather

APSIM

Soil water

Paddock

Clock
Report

Master
Paddock

Pasture (ryegrass)
Pasture (clover)

Met

Soil water

Manager
Simulate

Paddock

Pasture (ryegrass)

+
Soilwat
SoilN

paddock1

paddock2

Pasture (clover)
Animals
Stock

Soilwat

Animals
Manage

SoilN

Output

Residue

Residue

Chickpea

Chickpea

+
+

+
+

Commercial Use